Inky Black Redemption
by Sombereyes
Summary: Love is not always acceptable...it is not always understood in times of conformity. Speaking her mind doesn't come easy. After joining a questionable newspaper bureau, Shizuru meets others like herself, and through her new outlet, she finds her voice, her love, and the acceptance she's always wanted. (A throwback of sorts to the era of roughly the 30's - 70's)
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So, as I sit back listening to the music of the old days, a Sinatra style of sorts, I find myself thinking of Shizuru and Natsuki, and you know, I kinda wanted to do a throwback to the past...and though I never grew up in that time, I thought, oh hell, why not...I started this fan fiction a while back, but I never really posted the idea, and instead, I decided to start posting up Symmetry. I happened to forget about this somewhere along the line, and finally, today, after having dug it up, I realized how much I missed this idea, and how much I actually wanted to give it a shot.

The inspiration for this fan fiction comes from many singers, bet lets just say, the things on my play list most seemed to be Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, Kay Starr, Ella Fitzgerald...well you get the idea...I just wanted to give you an idea of the sort of music that was coming through my speakers when I even decided that this was a good idea. you may see some of these oldies, but goodies, sprinkled throughout the fiction, but I don't know yet.

Anyway, please read and review. I hope you enjoy it.

This WILL be AU, and...likely OOC to some extent.

Clearly, I don't own Mai HiME.

**Inky Black Redemption  
Chapter 1  
**

The rain pattered on the busy street corners, a gloomy morning upon which, the daily lives of the good city folk continued on. Newspaper boys called from the corners, waving the next issue of the messy print that would rub off of their hands, the ink painting colors of blacks and grays, indicating the freshly pressed, and tied papers were the most recent in events. For the cost of seven cents one could have such information at the palm of their hands, and as the chants of one young boy called at the nearby gas station in hopes of finding a buyer eluded to this. Some happy go lucky teens were filling their tanks, seventeen cents, perhaps nineteen, would offer them a day of cruising, and a night on the town.

It was the days of simple joys...of hard work, honest living, and it was within these days that a woman was a woman. A mother and a wife the future many sought, as that was the dream that had been implanted in their heads from even the youngest age. A man was a husband, a father, and the head of the house. He worked hard to be the breadwinner, another days pay a victory among factory workers and the booming industries. Boys and girls would trot off to school, while the cooking and cleaning took on new meaning for the women who took pride in being the caretakers of the house. It was, perhaps, with these thoughts in mind, that Shizuru found herself raised to understand, to love and believe, that she had found herself the future she wished.

Young, and fresh out of high school, she still lived with her parents. Today, her first few steps into adulthood seemed to ring in her ears, as she held nervously in her hand a neatly written resume. Dressed as conservatively as possible, she hoped beyond all hope, that she could find work here, in the small corner office of the newspaper bureau, perhaps finding stories that would appeal to the women of such an era. It was a dream of hers, since being able to read, to be able to tell the stories many dared never to question, she, herself, an inquiring mind. So few were the articles, of a woman wishing to become something other than her title...it was after all, still a radical view upon which, the ideals of unfounded declarations catered to the masses.

It was however, frowned upon for a woman to live in a mans world, to live as he would...to love as he would.

With such an ideal at the forefront of her of her mind, she dared to do what very few even refused to dream of. She was after all, such a woman, who could not speak freely of the type of love she dearly wished to have, it was unheard of, uncouth, and simply, uncalled for. Why a woman would even want to bed with another, went beyond normal realms of rebellion. Yet, that was the type of woman that she was, and she was indeed rebellious in her own, unspoken ways. Her views impossible for some to accept, or even, to comprehend.

To be gay was something hardly uttered, even to the most open minded of people.

The world business swam in conformity. Blues, blacks, browns...even women found themselves tied to those rules more often than not. Top hats and overcoats for the men. Long skirts, and high heels for women. Proper, conservative attire for those who attempted such a trade, unless perhaps, you found yourself to be a showgirl, who's idea of modesty came at a price. Shizuru herself, had selected what she hoped would be good enough, and she kept her make up simple, and hardly there at all, the red on her lips the most noticeable, a compliment to her dark, crimson eyes.

Smooth jazz wafted from the speakers of a radio that perched upon a large, mahogany desk. A single sheet of paper shoved into a typewriter that buzzed softly, and the hum was yet another thing that she fondly held near. It was it was to the tune of such a thing, and the clicking away of they keys, the bell that told all, the melodies of putting pen to paper, that she felt most at home. She fell entranced in the ideal of doing such a thing for herself. Still, the desk in front of her sat empty, and even as one of the busy workers told her to take a seat, she did so with measured grace and elegance, even as she was offered some much needed tea.

She could smell the faintest hint of cigarettes, and found it odd that this woman was not dressed as one might expect.

In fact, it had come at great shock to take note of the gray slacks, and white shirt that this woman donned. Behind her smug smile and less than appropriate attire, lime green eyes fell upon her form in abstract appraisal. "The boss will be in soon." In short order, she walked behind the desk, taking a seat in the brown leather chair, putting her feet on the desk. "If I were you, I wouldn't be so uptight. You look like you belong in some stuffy company, kissing the butt of some wealthy man on the top floor."

"Must you insist on being difficult." A voice with a lilt chimed in. "Nao, please get back to your own work." This woman was a mousy young thing, likely fresh out of finishing school herself, her mop of brown hair messy, and attire of a proper skirt, and an attractive, conservative blue top something welcoming. Thin wire frames perched upon her nose, and the fact that they had gold lacing them made it all the more apparent of her professional status. "If you don't finish the editorial, I'm afraid Miss Kuga will be very displeased." She sighed with dejection when Nao waved her off. Instead of fighting a losing battle, she instead turned to Shizuru. "Welcome, I'm Yukino Kikukawa, a personal secretary to both Miss Kuga, and Miss Suzushiro."

In the form of a handshake, Shizuru nodded willingly. "Shizuru Fujino, I'm-"

"The new applicant." Nao cut it. "Enough with the pleasantries. You two look like idiots." As she got up from her desk she rolled her eyes. "Come on Yukino, lets see if Haruka's botched anything yet..." The mousey girl was hardly given a chance to say her farewell as she was dragged out of the room, though Nao's voice carried even once they'd left. "You know she can't do anything right the first time." The ranting carried off into the gentle monotones of emptiness. The room and the hall barren. For what seemed like hours Shizuru sat waiting.

She'd heard that this particular section of the newspaper office had an ominous shadow looming over it. This particular branch not for the normalcy of the world, but instead for those who belonged tied and gagged, as if what they had to say could be considered worthless. They were small, and unpopular, many hated them, and their radical views. This news paper company was written by women, for women...the first of its kind. It went so far as to include stocks, and various other details that would normally only appeal to men. There was also a rumor about this particular branch. A hidden secret among the feminists that worked here...it was perhaps that very unspoken detail, that made Shizuru compelled to find work in a place such as this, when she knew she could have sought work anywhere, and she would be hired without question.

Finally, just as her worries began to fall over her shoulders, and doubt began to tickle the back of her mind, a tall slender woman came walking into the room. Her stride was fast, and her body seemed frazzled.

Her eyes were like that of emeralds, and her hair cascading freely down to the middle of her back. She wore a steel gray suit, all one color, and even went so far as to don a black tie. Her shoes, clearly men's, were shined, and the scent of tobacco danced in the air. One of the little white sticks perched upon the woman's pale lips. The embers alight, sending glow to the face hidden under her hat. She seemed to be in a rush, as she snuffed out the poorly rolled cigarette in the ash tray, removing her hat, and the the steely grey jacket, showing off the white shirt underneath.

Her eyes searched the desk, in hopes it seemed, to find something of value. It was only as she peered up for a moment, that she took notice of the young woman seated across from her. "Oh..." She murmured then, trying to recall the woman, coming up short. "May I help you?" Her eyes went back down to her desk, again looking for some treasured piece of something important, seemingly curing herself when it went undiscovered. A porcelain hand came into view, and she followed the arm in her sight, catching a glimpse of the woman who was in her office yet again. "Yes?" Natsuki couldn't understand why she was here, but instantly, she felt an odd sense of obscurity fall over her like a cloak.

"My name is Shizuru Fujino." The woman of fawn began softly. "I had an interview today, so..." Her eyes fell away from the emerald that so captivated her. She held in a breath as finger tips colored from traces of ink brushed gently against her own soft digits. "I hope I'm not late." Natsuki took the papers from the younger girl slowly, and Shizuru wanted the feeling to last forever.

"No, not at all." Natsuki's words seemed unintentional, as she flipped through the think, but well constructed document. She licked her lips as she gazed up, as if fascinated by this odd young girl. "Interesting...yet not without provocation." It was a quandary, a pickle that she couldn't seem to find an answer for.

"I hope you find my resume to be to your liking." Shizuru answered back carefully, unsure what to make of this eccentric woman in front of her.

"Oh, yes it will do just fine." The woman of midnight tresses nodded. "My name is Natsuki...Natsuki Kuga." She'd finally put together the math. "You're father, he's a lawyer, is he not?" If so, Natsuki knew things wouldn't bode well, yet, even so, she found herself interested in this young woman who had been brazen enough to step foot into a place such as this.

"Yes...he is." Shizuru's slow response was one filled with apprehension.

Natsuki noticed the change in the room, and her brows furrowed in confusion as she eyed the girl in front of her. "You wish to work here?" This young woman didn't belong in such a questionable place. "Do you understand just what type of paper we run?" It was perhaps the fact that she seemed wiser than her years, but even so, the look in crimson eyes told her all she needed to know. Shame...a clouded answer most were unwilling to speak.

"I do." Shizuru said then, in the smallest whisper. "It is because of the type, that I wish to work here." She tried to keep her shoulders from slumping, it was more difficult admitting the real questions behind the lines. "I know of the rumors...they only further served to interest me."

"It isn't every day we get a woman your age in here." Natsuki said, even though she wasn't all that much older herself. "Eighteen, and filled with so much promise, and you want to work here?" Natsuki knew she belonged here, but this girl...well it seemed odd. "You do realize that everyone who works here...uhhhh..." She floundered in her words, unable to find the right thing to say. "We aren't..." She scratched her head, looking down at her desk. "Are you sure you want to work here?" She chuckled looking away from the coy look she was being given.

Shizuru nodded, trying not to smile as a blush tickled Natsuki's cheeks. "It really isn't that uncommon, now is it?"

"Actually, it is pretty out of the blue..." Natsuki said then, trying to look at anything accept the girl in front of her. The way Shizuru's legs were crossed, her knee peaked out just the tiniest bit, and Natsuki licked her lips, wishing that the dark pantyhose weren't in the way. Even so, the gesture was teasing in it's own way, and she doubted Shizuru took notice of such a miniscule thing. "I mean, most of the people here...they've come from places looking for a place they can belong." Natsuki sighed then, knowing there wasn't any subtle way to put this. "We're not exactly considered family reading. The pay here is low, and the people who work here, choose to do so, because they are accepted blindly, we come from very...questionable...walks of life." Then, a heart wrenching thought came to her mind. "You aren't a runaway are you?"

"No, I live here in this city." Shizuru said then, with some measure of strength in her voice. "With my parents...they don't know." Shame again, laced her eyes, and Natsuki sighed deeply.

"You're young. You have a future that could be ruined by this." Still, Natsuki felt as if she couldn't begrudge this young woman, clearly on a personal journey to find herself. "You qualify for what I need of you, and if working with a bunch of gays is really what you want to do..." She licked her lips, and felt herself unable to deny this young woman anything she may ever ask. "I'll hire you...you can work directly under me, if that's what you want."

"It is." Shizuru said then, signing away her fate on the dotted line, knowing this was what she truly wanted.

…

"Natsuki, when I agreed to help you, I did so under one condition." Her father sighed later that evening over their weekly phone call. "That you'd do well to keep this oddity of yours under wraps." He was a stock broker, and made enough money that he could live quite comfortably. "It's bad enough that my daughter dresses as if she's my son, but, this?"

"I'm a lesbian Dad." Natsuki felt like she's been over this with him countless times already. "I'm not interested in being a guy...I just like women."

"Balderdash, you've never once acted as a proper woman should!" He exclaimed, his daughter always a deep pool of foreboding trouble. He wished he could talk some sense into her, but he also understood that was a failing endeavor. "Either way, to hire in someone so young..." He shook his head although he knew that his daughter couldn't see it, feeling lost for words. "Why would you do such a thing, Natsuki? She isn't one of your little misguided friends."

"I know she isn't." Natsuki began, feeling truly admonished. "But when I decided I was going to do this, I knew I was taking risks." She was walking around her tiny little studio, trying to clean up a bit. "I never realized that this would happen, so I just called to warn you." Natsuki knew her father was angry, and she felt as if this was a bad idea as well, but she remembered the look in those crimson orbs. "I'm going to let her work for me." She didn't want to see those sad eyes.

"I'm glad that you did. I'm extending some words of advise. She's the daughter of a client..a very important one." Her father answered back dryly. "This isn't a risk, it's absolutely out of the question. You can't keep that girl under your employment. If my client finds out that his innocent little girl is working under you, it will upset him greatly." It didn't help that he, himself, had been displeased by this current information. "You have succeeded in provoking animosity in the hearts of those around you before, but her father, he is not one you should cross. I beg of you, take just a bit of caution with everything that you do."

That part was at least true. Shizuru had a name and at the mere glance of it, Natsuki had felt the embers of trouble lurking unseen within the pit of crimson eyes. "I don't know why I decided to hire her, I couldn't even tell you off hand." Natsuki felt drawn to that look, the quiet admission, the fear of actually saying things out loud. "But, I know that if I were her, then I'd want to have a voice...actually, I did want one, that's why I dole out paper media in the way that I do. Everyone I hire feels the same way, and they struggle within themselves. We want everyone know just how we feel...there isn't anything wrong with that."

"In your eyes, perhaps not." Natsuki's father could relent that Natsuki was trying to be an activist, the only way she knew how. It was admirable at least. "It would not have mattered in the eyes of your mother either, but, no matter what Natsuki, you must remember well, those streets are unsafe for a person such as yourself. If she stays quiet, she may be able to find a man, and have all of the joys that a woman should have...even if you don't want them, it doesn't mean that she won't. One day, she will see this is a mistake, and I'm merely looking out for her best interests, as well as your own." Then he paused, coming up with an idea that had already been rejected once before. "You should accept Takeda's offer. He is a good man Natsuki."

"Dad...I'm not marring some dude...especially not that idiot." Natsuki grumbled. "I will find a woman, one who will love me, and when I do, you'll see how happy I'll be with that person...she just hasn't come along yet."

"You'll be a spinster one day if you keep that up. You've been saying that for years now Natsuki, it's time you put that idea out of your head once and for all. There is nothing wrong with independence, but, you must be lonely, and there is no cure for that, accept to wed a man, and enjoy the life that your mother, and your grandmother before you, also enjoyed." He muttered back at her. He knew however, that Natsuki wasn't going to listen to reason, and turned back to the matter at hand. "Listen, that girl can not, under any circumstance, work for you."

"What, will you do?" Natsuki asked him harshly. "Tell her dad what's going on?"

"Now Natsuki, you know I wouldn't do that." He shook his head, his daughter a shark in a man's world, and one who would dare to take on the worst of battles. She was so unruly in that way. "I wouldn't think to utter a word, but, you must also think of her personal welfare."

"I am." Natsuki said then. "That's why I hired her."

The bickering continued for several more moments before they finally gave up, and said goodbye. The phone felt heavy in her hands as she dragged the cord along the floor, coiling it back up the way it should be. She lived in fact, just above her office, and when she realized she would be unable to sleep, she decided to give up the ideal of peace, moseying back down to the lower floor. She entered her office, but didn't dare turn on her overhead light, instead, merely looking at the resume that sat of her desk earlier. It was not the first time she'd read it, and it was likely not the last, and as she thumbed though the pages, her mind meandered back to the soft gentle smile that had at one point graced those kissable lips.

"Shizuru Fujino..." Natsuki sighed the name like a fine wine, and then, she closed her eyes, leaning back into the soft leather chair. "Just what on earth does she think she's getting herself into." Natsuki couldn't be sure, as she fingered one of the cigarettes that sat in the silver case that she always carried, pondering the addiction, even if only for a moment. Then, she closed her case and sighed, licking her lips, remembering the smooth, thick voice of intoxication from earlier. No, the girl wasn't innocent...she was the furthest thing from her outward appearance, and that in and of itself seemed enough for Natsuki. "Out of the frying pan." Natsuki shrugged then, with a tiny little chuckle, putting away the resume again.

The picketers would be outside again early in the morning, and the workers would have to listen to the slanderous barbs and insults directed at them. "Into the fire. " It was an understatement. Sooner or later, Shizuru would be discovered, and she too, would have the joy of living in vocal freedom, all the while, fearing the very society who shunned such an important ideal.

* * *

So, that was chapter one...hope you all liked it.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I hope you guys and gals are just as excited for this next chapter as I am. I decided not to make this into a song fiction, however, I thought I'd tell you all what song did happen to inspire each chapter. This chapter, I happened to find myself listening to the song "It's Bad For Me." Sung in a duet with Rosemary Clooney and Benny Goodman. You can find this song on Grooveshark, and also on YouTube, so if you wish to hear the song, and don't have it on your Itunes like I do, that's where you should check it out.

I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter. Please read and review.

**Inky Black Redemption  
Chapter 2**

Shizuru had been born and raised in the upper middle class of town, and she hadn't wanted for anything growing up. She was not of the rich, yet not at all of the poor. Quite comfortably she grew up in the loving sights of a strict mother, and a successful father. She went to church every Sunday dressed in her best, and every other Saturday, she would often sip tea with young women her won age from bible study. She could do everything her father would expect of a proper young woman, and her beauty caught the eyes of several young men, who, if given time, would be wonderful, successful men.

They surely would seek a young woman to marry. Just like her father, had done himself in his youth. Some women were happy with the idea of becoming a bride. That, while lovely and grand for some, was not the dream Shizuru had in mind. However, it was the dream her father expected, and he always had his way. A man's home, truly his castle.

A day in the life of any proper household started with a good meal with the family.

It was her father's law that every morning be spent in the company of his wife and darling daughter. His words were absolute, and his values were strictly of the roman catholic faith. He was a lawyer of the highest caliber, and thus, he found it difficult to attend dinner. It was because of this, he insisted the family surrounded the table with proper food and conversation. Always, without question, oatmeal was the main staple to the meal, mostly because he preferred it. Freshly baked bread, and room temperature butter would gift the center. Like clockwork, at six in the morning a full spread of meats and other delectable treats appeared like magic before him.

He never questioned how the food got there, or how the dishes cleaned themselves after. The women in his life, particularly his daughter, often teased him about his lunch dancing into his briefcase. She knew he had no actual idea how it got there. Fresh coffee might as well have brewed itself, and he would not have cared. As long as he didn't trifle in the affairs of the house, his wife left him well enough alone about the matter. Although, it was to great dismay that he allowed her to do the book keeping, something they bickered about relentlessly in their younger years.

He was a simple man, but an honorable one, who viewed life as a platter of the richest of food.

One who craved, merely had to pluck that which was theirs to have... it wasn't his fault if some people couldn't reach that table, now was it? He thought not, and it was with that ideal in mind, that he had raised his daughter...though, upon refection, he often wondered if he had done wrong by her. She was alike in her view, and perhaps just a little more independent that she should be. She didn't require the affections of a young suitor, and that troubled her father greatly, but it was a trouble he had looked past.

It was his view that to be a woman meant a very simple life, with perhaps the simplest of things, though his wife often disagreed with him. It was with a frown upon his features that he regarded his daughter, seeing she was once again dressed in something quite professional. He sipped his dark, black coffee, pondering this, looking at his daughter through the thin rim of his glasses. His hair, that of salt and pepper, was cut short, but appropriately. The black suit he donned was crisp and clean, and he had five others like it. He claimed a man could never have enough. He even kept one in his office, and several ties as well, just on the off chance that he might need it.

He was always the first to sit at the table, and normally the last to leave. As his wife began to clean the crumbs and plates from their breakfast, Shizuru merely enjoyed what little time she had left before work, sipping on some warm tea, butterflies dancing away in her stomach. Her mind wandering to the thought of Natsuki.

"Shizuru, you look splendid today." He said, buttering a piece of golden brown toast. "However, my darling daughter, one must question just why you've been leaving so early in recent days?" It was the last one, and he seemed intent on thoroughly enjoying it. "A young man perhaps?"

"Sorry, but I'm afraid not." His hopes would always be in vain if he kept wishing something like that. "I've found work, Father. I start today." She ignored his gaze, instead, busying herself with her the orange that sat off to the side of her plate as she began to peel it. "I'm afraid I don't have the time to help Mother with her duties, and I simply won't during the week. She said she was perfectly fine with it, but, even so, I worry."

"She should be careful, but you shouldn't trifle yourself over something such as that." He nodded his head, and his tone remained even, unconcerned with the information. He was proud that his daughter had done as expected of any honorable person, seeking an honest living. He merely wished she would occupy her time with a bit of romance here and there. "Not that I find myself particularly fond of prying, but, where exactly do you work?"

"I'm a personal secretary." Shizuru answered, though her voice wasn't committed to the conversation fully. "A newspaper bureau down town recently opened a few new branch offices, and I just happened to have my interview yesterday. I honestly didn't think I would be hired so easily, but, as they say, don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

"Yes." He said then, dabbing the side of his mouth with his napkin, after having taken quite a large gulp of his coffee. "Indeed, a very truthful statement. Never forget it. Though, if you were looking for such a position, I wish you would have told me first. I'm sure I could have been some help."

"Thank you for the sentiment, but it really isn't necessary. I wish to do things on my own. I want to know that I have the skill that it takes." She said after finishing her orange. "Though, I suppose in light of that, I really should be going. I wouldn't want to be late on my first day."

"Eager, aren't you?" He replied then, with a raised eyebrow and a smirk of amusement.

"Even if I am, is that really such a bad thing?" She asked her father. He merely shrugged, a twinkle in his eye something he wouldn't speak of, and she rolled her eyes. Surely, he had to bet getting the wrong impression.

"So, there is a young love involved in your endeavors perhaps?" His words pleasantly hopeful.

"If by which you're implying my boss, who just so happens to be tall, with dark midnight hair and dazzling green eyes, then perhaps I should tell you, it could never happen." Shizuru leaned over the table then, knowing her father couldn't possibly know just where she found herself working.

"Why on earth not?" Her father declared. "Did he thwart your advances, or is he perhaps married?"

"Father, Natsuki is a woman." Shizuru said, shaking her head then as he frowned deeply.

"Oh...well, dash it all." He all but threw down his napkin as he stood from the table. "Shame on you, getting my hopes up."

"You do that well enough yourself." She said also standing and preparing to leave for work.

…

The bureau was in a tizzy by the time Shizuru arrived. Two of the machines were down, and a few of the employees were off gathering stories, unable to be of use. Shizuru could only gape in awe, at the amount of work that went into each individual paper. As they were put together and tied by hand, there were several utterances Shizuru would never dare repeat. That labor was something the large brick of a machine usually did for them. Natsuki was trying desperately to get the large, often loud machine to turn back on, a jam in the line seemingly the least of their worries. Natsuki passed off the task to Nao after a few more moments of tampering with the machine did little in the way of improvement.

In fact, Shizuru assumed it only made matters worse...the black smoke trickling from one of the vents telling all.

Natsuki led Shizuru into the back offices, and where there had once been only a single desk outside of two doors at the end of the hall, there were now two. "I'd like you to be my personal assistant so that Yukino can go back to helping Haruka." Natsuki explained as they walked down the narrow strip. "Sooner or later, I'll probably even send you to go on interviews, or things like that. Most of the time, I can't be bothered. Trying to keep this madhouse running is normally all I can get done." Shizuru's desk was of standard make, and not nearly as finely crafted at Natsuki's own, but all of the expected utensils had found their way about her area in a neat, and very organized fashion. "The most common task you'll be doing around here, is typing up the articles we accept for printing."

With that in mind, she pulled the large box from Yukino's desk that had been overflowing, placing it on top of Shizuru's. With precision, Natsuki gave a live demonstration of just how exactly she liked the stories formatted, and during that time, some where along the line, she got caught up in the trade off...unsure of just how much this girl knew about her new assigned task. "It's okay if you need to be slow at first. We don't publish weekly like most of the others do." Natsuki said softly as she leaned over Shizuru's desk, showing her the ropes.

A blush tickled her face, as she felt Shizuru's long hair tickle her cheek. "As you know, our paper is still rather new, and since the company is in its infancy we would be better off sticking to more normal topics." Her fingers tapped away in rhythm, and with every ding of the bell, Natsuki would quickly reset the machine, and go back to typing again. "We only have two typewriters that actually reset themselves automatically, so I'm sorry that you'll have to deal with this, but even I use this method at my own desk."

"This is more than adequate." Shizuru said then, looking at those pale, ink stained hands as they continued to tap away repeatedly. "Although, I think it would be more suitable if I were to type up this article, correct?" She left herself glace at Natsuki. The woman's lower lip between her teeth just ever so slightly as she nearly stopped breathing, standing frozen still, for just a moment. Something hardly noticeable.

"Well...yeah." Natsuki averted her eyes from the gentle smile she'd received at that. "Our reporters write everything by hand, so, if you ever have a question about the article that you've been told to type up, just go ahead and ask them. Nao is a total slob with her writing, so feel free to bop her in the nose with her papers if you can't read them. Anything that you finish will go directly to Yukino, she'll know what to do."

"It sounds easy enough." Shizuru said then, complying. "I'm positive I won't have any trouble."

"It's not trouble that I'm worried about." Natsuki said then, taping her knuckles on the desk absentmindedly. She looked around the office, happy that for the moment everyone was still occupied wit the large printing machines. It was both a blessing and a curse. "We'll need a repair man, and if we can't get one, we will be behind in our work. Doing everything by hand isn't going to be easy."

"That does sound a bit difficult." Shizuru said then as she looked over the page that Natsuki had been copying, and slowly she began to pat away at the keys herself.

"It really isn't that bad, but the hours will be long." Emerald eyes watched Shizuru's lack of speed, but didn't comment. Her eyes, seemingly lecherous today, lingered for a little longer on the young woman. It was inappropriate, Natsuki was sure. She had never settled her gaze upon one such as Shizuru, and her looks were something that were both an interest, and, an oddity. Fawn hair, that was surely a dime a dozen, but her eyes, like that of reddened gems sparkled even in the dim, flickering light of the office. "I don't suppose you'll be needing any guidance then?" Even as she said this, she knew what the answer would be.

"I'll be fine." Shizuru said then, pausing to meticulously read Nao's scribble. "Thank you for your concern though."

"Don't mention it...uhh...you can take your lunch whenever you see fit." It was all she could think of to say before nodding her head and going into the other room, trying to help the others. Shizuru busied herself with the small, sloppily written article that had been edited several times over already. With deft fingers she found the task fairly easy. There was only one rare occasion that the paper decide to jam. Though she was not nearly as fast as Natsuki, she could say she was happy she was more precise. She didn't have to blot out errors as often as the dark haired beauty, that currently found herself up a creak without a paddle.

Shizuru frowned at that.

She didn't know why, but the idea of Natsuki's difficulties seemed to mount up as the day went on, and Shizuru got a glimpse of just how unpopular the paper was...then again, it wasn't a popularity issue...it was something else entirely, something that very few could truly understand. She paused her task on several occasions, her eyes meeting emerald through the window of the door, and there were a few times Natsuki turned away to bark orders, though, Shizuru had no idea what she had been shouting about. The patter of pebbles along the brick wall was something quite distracting, and eventually, Shizuru found herself thankful that music began to drown out the rudeness that seemed aplenty outside of their office.

The calls of angry voices alerted her senses whenever someone entered or exited the building, and she sighed in dismay, knowing that the hateful slander would be directed at her soon enough. That is, if she were ever to be found out. She'd taken to dressing in a long jacket, and even covered her eyes with a hat when she traveled. If her father ever caught wind of this, he would be displeased. With a deject sigh, her fingers that often had a bad habit of wandering, began to tap away at the metal keys, the new blank page filling with her thoughts, her words something she knew would provoke an uproar.

She often dreamed to say what she wished, in hopes that it would reach the ears of the public. Still, even as she found herself swept away, she couldn't stop the flow of words that drifted from her heart. It was only after the first few tendrils of her thoughts painted the page, that she removed it from the machine. _"Well if this isn't being conspicuous, I don't know what on earth is." _She could berate herself mentally at least. Sighing as she folded her little moment of inspiration, she shook herself of the audacity that she had. Her eyes went back to the article of the newest appliances out on the market, and what they could do to make the modern woman's life easier. She forced herself to struggle through it.

The much more interesting article below made her smile widely, as if she'd come across something finally of merit.

This one was a diamond in the rough, and with eagerness at the bottom of her heart, and excitement in her eyes, Shizuru saw Natsuki's signature across the top of the page. An activist, by the name of Kruger always posted slander about the judgmental communities, a sharp tongue and quick wit at the forefront of every single thing the woman printed. Shizuru held her breath, thinking often of the brilliant words drenched in toxicity. Often Kruger's words were doleful, angry at the world, making declarations that defied the very ideal of normal.

Quite happily, and on more than one occasion, she often chanted the phrase _"May the gods strike me dead otherwise!"_ as if to point a barb at even the higher powers. Kruger was not a god fearing woman. She was soulful, and often times down to earth. She would nitpick particular venues, and often ranted about the burlesque houses and brothels that catered to the adults seeking a little fun, and perhaps, a little more. Kruger was a feminist among women, and took pride in being such a woman. She was not one to be remotely civil in the eyes of god fearing people, nor the bigots that sent rocks flying at the windows. This article, like all of her others, begged for her voice to find the wind, in hopes that it would reach the ears of even one person.

Natsuki Kuga, the gentle and shy woman of midnight tresses, who couldn't even hold her blush for a few mere moments...it had been her. She was the infamous upstart known as Kruger. With new found interest, she peered at the top of Nao's work, and her name was Julia. It stood to reason, surely, that in order to print these types of articles, one would need a good cover, a different name provided that. It was only just as she began to tap away at they keys that Natsuki walked back into her personal office, closing the door behind her without pep in her step. She seemed void of joy, and Shizuru didn't like that.

…

She had never finished a project so quickly in her life. Still, even though she had plenty more where that came from, she stood up, straitening the simple black skirt that she had paired with a frilly white top. The black matching top was tailored to fit her snugly, and as she pulled out the pencil she had been using to keep her hair in a bun, she exhaled a breath, letting herself into Natsuki's office. "May in interest you in some coffee, or perhaps some tea?" Shizuru asked softly, standing at the door.

"Oh, no thanks." Natsuki smiled then, holding up a glass bottle, soda fizzling fresh and bubbly. "I never drink coffee in the afternoon." Upon a white handkerchief a sandwich sat, with what looked to be a large jar of mayo near by. "Have you brought a lunch today?"

"I don't often find the time." Shizuru said then softly as she walked in, her hands cupped in front of her pleasantly.

"I don't see why." Natsuki replied absentmindedly. "Everyone needs to eat." Then she nodded, putting her finger up, to indicate she would be right back, scurrying behind an unmarked, gray door that stood behind her chair, reappearing a few minuets later with a small bowl of salad and a handmade sandwich in hand, the cold cuts cold, and the bread toasty warm, folded in a white cloth, much like the one on Natsuki's desk. "I know this isn't ritzy, but it's pretty tasty. Please, join me in a bite, it suits me to join in the company of others."

"So, the infamous Kruger can sweep a woman off her feet." Shizuru smiled then as she joined Natsuki at the desk. "Should I inquire just what type of company you would like?"

"Droll..." Natsuki growled. "Very, very droll." A grumble in her voice wavered into a slight purr. "I didn't mean it like that." She found the bottle opener, removing the top of a new bottle, placing it in front of Shizuru, before settling back down. "I just so happen to live alone and take my meals the same. At lunch I normally wish to have some idle banter here and there. It keeps one as lonely as myself in high spirits."

"You are a wonderful cook." Shizuru smiled then. "Where did you learn?"

"I'm afraid you're mistaken." Natsuki chuckled then. "I don't cook well at all. I was never taught my way around the kitchen, I'm afraid."

"One would never know of it by the taste of this." Shizuru said then quietly.

"We never had an honest woman around." Natsuki explained, those words saying everything inappropriate about her parents that it could. "My dad had to feed himself somehow. However, if you were to ask for a properly cooked meal, I'm afraid all you would receive is something blackened, and a fire in the kitchen."

"I'm afraid that would drive my father absolutely batty." Shizuru giggled then, even imagining him trying to cook anything. He was hopeless without her mother. "So, if you live alone, you must enjoy a solitary life. I don't think I could ever do that, I'm so much a butterfly that I still stay at home."

"It isn't quite that easy." Natsuki said then after finishing her sandwich. "It isn't that I like to live alone, however, I find that people in our situation very rarely find a kind eye. If you've discovered that I'm Kruger, think of how easy it would be for anyone else to do the same."

"Nonsense." Shizuru said then, her voice a gentle tone. "You act nothing of the persona portrayed in your writing. You write beautifully, don't get me wrong. You simply have a more wholesome personality."

"That's because my writing is something from the heart, things I can't say outwardly." Natsuki felt crimson eyes on her, a mild surprise lacing them. "My father wants me to settle down and get married...I suppose that I should. Though I think, if that's the only other fate I'd have, I'd rather suffer nights in loneliness. At least then I can spend my days doing as I please."

"I'm sure your readers see Kruger as a very compelling woman, but you see, that's only after they've looked past the surface." Shizuru shook her head, her dainty hand reaching for her drink. "Kruger comes off as a bitter woman, who's views on society and the morals they keep should be shot dead." Shizuru told Natsuki plainly. "You on the other had, don't come off quite so bitter. In fact I doubt that you are."

"No, perhaps I don't seem like it." Natsuki pondered that as she put the bottle of coke to her lips. "Tell me then, what impression do you have of me?"

"Well, I don't know you very well." Shizuru began, a seeming disclaimer about her next choice of words. "However, you spark me as a dashing young romantic, wishing perhaps, to find a suitor. Lacking a companion to share the world with, I'm sure there are moments of sadness, yet you do not seem to let that control you. In fact, I'd like to think you've let your hardships fill you with wisdom." Shizuru averted her eyes. "Your looks are quite fetching, and any man would find an interest in you. That is, if you perhaps dress as a woman should." As she looked down at her hands that were in her lap, she coyly glanced back up, as if to gauge the reaction of the older woman.

"You, my dear are a flirt, though you do not know it." Natsuki said back softly. Two could play at that game.

"What little faith you have in me." Shizuru replied back with a small grin. "I've not yet even begun to flirt, though you seem to think I have." Then she took a sip of her bubbling soda, the long pause much needed as she contemplated that one comment. "When you look at me, what do you see?"

"Well...I suppose I see many things. Although I don't-" Natsuki stopped in her tracks when Nao came into the room knocking on the door sarcastically.

"Stop fraternizing with the new girl you pervert." Nao's grin was like a devil, and as she leaned upon the wall she pointed out into the hall. "The repairman's here, but he needs your John Hancock before he he can fix the damned thing."

"You tell that greedy base-born, that I won't sign anything or even pay a penny until after I know what's wrong with it." Natsuki snarled back, shaking her head in irritated dismay. It was always something, and she hated that today, when luckily she found herself in the company of a young, beautiful woman. It seemed everything intended to go awry, and that frustrated her more than ever. "And tell Chie I want her rear back into work tomorrow, with or without that gossip composition. We're already behind in schedule."

"She's here already." Nao chuckled, with a perverse undertone. In her hands she held the written work Chie had finished. "However, since you were busy hobnobbing with the new dame over there, she got bored. I'd be willing to bet my bottom dollar she went of to bootlick. If you were to go searching for her, I'd say she'll have her hand halfway up Aoi's thigh. She so loves to make that woman a disheveled mess."

Natsuki all but tore the papers as they crinkled in her fist, having been yanked from Nao's hand. "That's just sick." Natsuki told Nao then. "Find Chie, beat her in the head, and then meet me by the machine room." Natsuki's voice gave no room to further cause a scene, and Nao, reluctantly, complied. "Here..." Natsuki said, her voice returning to her gentle, if not occasionally melancholic purr. After smoothing out the papers she handed them to Shizuru. "Type this up, and then give anything you haven't finished to Yukino. She can help you get the rest of the articles done today. Once you're done, you may clock out and go home."

"You never did answer my question." It was the hint of a whisper, filled with perhaps just a trace of longing.

Natsuki paused, having almost been out of the door herself. She turned around slowly, her emerald eyes finding Shizuru's again as she smiled. "It doesn't really matter." Natsuki said then, as she put her hands in her pockets. Mischief reflected in the corners of their mouths, a shared smirk enough of an answer in and of itself. "You're young...and perhaps a little naive. You're the daughter of a lawyer I'd dare not cross, and thus, unattainable. No matter what I think of you, it would be foolish to tell." With that, she left the room, Shizuru dazzled, and not just a little befuddled.

* * *

When I have a chance, I'll work on more chapters.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to the new year, I know that I am. I've finally had a few days to myself without parties, or cooking, or chores...or anything else work related and I feel refreshed and ready for the new year. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. It gets deep, but from an author like me, that's to be expected I guess...it get's fluffy so I guess that makes up for it. Anyway, enjoy the chapter all!

Though, the truth is, the major fluff will be the next chapter...so much fluff in fact, that I'm sure I'm going to go crazy, because we all know I have two extremes, drama to the max, or sickeningly sweet fluffiness! anyway, please read and review.

Don't own Mai HiME/Mai Otome...

**Inky Black Redemption  
Chapter 3**

Natsuki awoke to another early morning with little else to do. Her tiny flat above the offices seemed lonelier than usual. She felt as if she'd had a hangover, but nothing had touched her lips, and with a parched, dry sigh, she reached out to the half empty bottle of soda that had already gone flat. It wasn't nearly strong enough to kill off the hazy feeling in her mind. In her bathrobe and bare feet, she went down into the lower floors, trying to find something to occupy her time. She was always busy at her desk when she had nothing else better to do. She thought she may be able to keep herself busy once again, the method tried and true.

No one would be working today, and the offices would be closed. Still, she herself had work to get done, and with the soft wane of the radio near her desk, she fished out a pen and paper, scratching away on her newest composition, but in short order she found that she hadn't anything better to add. She licked her thumb before trying to separate two of the pages that were stuck together before sighing briefly. She could hear the hum of the machine in front of her, a little buzz that sometimes rang in her mind even when she wasn't working...a noise that had become her entire life.

Nothing came to her...and for once she found that her mind was blank, and devoid of the usual clutter.

It had been that way ever since Shizuru had entered her office. For a week, every day petered on slowly, and lingered within her mind. Shizuru would come in to work with a cheerful mood and the day would suddenly become brighter. She would flit around the office sharing her ideas, and often times, her company during lunch. Shizuru was becoming a busy little bee, and one that Natsuki found an attraction in. With the mildest of flirtation, and the ease of any breathtaking woman, Shizuru slipped only the tinest hints of attraction from between her lips.

It was however, enough to get Natsuki's undivided attention...her efforts to ignore the little bud of romance something nearing impossible as the days ebbed onward.

It should have been blissful, but instead she found herself sighing in despair every few minuets. She couldn't get her mind to leave matters well enough alone. Her toiling must have been louder than she thought it was, because no sooner had she gotten up from her chair to pace, that a sleepy freeloader came staggering into her office. "If you must be destitute, you should at least do it quietly." Nao yawned as she took a seat across from Natsuki. Her clothes were rumpled from having slept on the sofa in the break room, her eyes dark with circles. "Well..?" She waited, but Natsuki's pensive gaze remained on the windows overlooking a gray sky and grungy streets, morning light had not yet come.

Nao must not have been able to finish her work before nightfall. She never traveled the streets at night, knowing it would be her demise if she tried to do it alone. Natsuki often offered her a place to sleep, but more often than not, the young woman refused even that, unless winter brought forth the bitter cold. "Nao...when you came to America, what did you have in mind?" Natsuki asked softly, wondering if there was perhaps something she'd missed in the grand scheme of things.

"I never really thought about it." Nao sat forward then, partaking of one of Natsuki's cigarettes, lighting it with a match. "My mother wanted to come. Everyone said it was the land where dreams come true." Everyone thought of America as such a place. "Just like a lot of people, we came here looking for something more, I guess...some reason to belong. Turns out, the dreams are just like reality...and no matter what we do, we're still cadged."

Natsuki nodded, understanding Nao's meaning. "Perhaps we are." Even so, Natsuki knew that it was still within reach. Other people had found the dreams just beyond the reality. "Your mother did remarry though." Natsuki answered softly. "She did find happiness, so ours has got to be out there someplace."

"You and your hopes...might as well give up." Nao sighed out, dejection in her stance more than her voice as her shoulder sagged. "Land of the free, what a crock."

"Nao...being gay is wrong...it's just not part of the way things should be. Even in a free land, that wouldn't be accepted without questions posed." Natsuki replied then with a shake of her head. As she stood up, she gazed down at the streets, trying to find out if the picketers had started their morning tirade. "This land is a free place, but this place is soaked in blood, sweat, and tears...if gays want equality among that freedom, they should fight for it too...I fully believe that. One day we will be accepted, we will be equal. We'll even be able to get married, you'll see."

"You dream big, but dreams aren't apart of America for people like us." Nao said then, as if that should have occurred to Natsuki. "You're a half-breed, pride for this country runs through your veins by default."

For a moment, she considered that, but she couldn't believe her ears. For a moment, she considered that there would only be one way to hit her point home. "I would still be in Japan if my mother were still alive." Natsuki said then, in perfect Japanese, her temper flared at Nao's absurd remark. She was far more eloquent in English, having had to use it more often ever since she had been a child. "However, I can not change the past. This is the place I call home now." It was rare she used her native tongue.

"If you want to dismiss your homeland, that's up to you." Nao grumbled. "But you'll be sorry for having faith in a place like this."

Natsuki could detect the hint of homesickness that lingered in Nao's voice, just as it seemed to do often in times of privacy. "Nao, I have pride in both lands. Don't ever dare question my loyalty to either country. Both of them forever my home and heartland." It was something she herself took a very deep faith in. "Land is land, and it is up to the will of the people to make things great." It was then she turned to Nao, a defiant glare, filled with strength, and a profound loyalty. "Bygones and losses are apart of that, but I'd like to think, I would have ended up here one day anyway."

"I admire you because of your blood and spirit." Nao answered back, hurt dancing across her face. "Not everyone is so forgiving of the war, and in their mind, the pain is still fresh. So many of my people are being treated like trash, but we've not nothing wrong! If you like it here, so be it, but I can't understand why everyone loves this place so much."

"See, that right there." Natsuki pointed at her with a sigh. "That's the type of hate that breeds war and death. It promotes slavery, bigotry, slander, and insanity. If you and the rest of this god forsaken world woke up and realized that, we'd all be in a better place." Natsuki knew Nao was still young, and bitterly angry, but half of her family had been unable to immigrate. She and her mother were alone. Natsuki knew Nao's pride in Japan was strong, but she was also verdant. "The war was, and will forever be, the worst massacre I've ever even heard of. Everyone had a hand at foul play, don't think for a second that they weren't. That kind of malice doesn't breed over night, and not without deplorable action taken on all sides."

"It's easy for you to say that." Nao shot back. "I've not heard word of my family, I've no idea if they're alright."

"It matters very little." Natsuki answered then. "Nao, you're still young...if you let that hate breed within you, all you'll do is cause your mother undue stress. Not to mention that you'll give our people a bad name. No one needs anymore bloodshed. No one..."

"You're the only one I know that speaks Japanese." Nao said then, in her own doleful tongue. Her wane normally beautiful, was something dark and venomous. "Do you realize how important that is to me?"

Natsuki shook her head and smiled softly. This girl often failed to look around at those around here. "Shizuru is our kin. Fujino is not an American name." It was easy to forget that Nao could be considered a child, having never gone to high school. "There are others here, those who have the blood of our ancestors pumping through their veins. Their hearts beat with pride, and unwavering honor. America is filled with the plight of many, all of them just as heavy as your own. However, you're seventeen Nao. A young woman who needs to stand and find her way. I've known you a long time, but through all of it, I've never seen you try to learn the ways of this country. You know only enough to survive, and that will get you nowhere fast."

"I just turned seventeen get your lecherous hands away from me!" Nao pushed Natsuki's embrace away from her, and only made Natsuki grin as she ran her knuckles along Nao's head roughly. "Blasted dunderhead! I told you to stop."

"Then stop being a baby." Natsuki said then, letting go of Nao. "Listen, people care, and this place isn't so bad...it has its moments, but every place does. There is no paradise, no perfection, unless we strive to make one, and that's the American dream. To work hard, and build a home for ourselves, to raise families, and to live in happiness. This country was founded on religious freedom, but we've gained many others along the way...if we want more freedoms, we have to cry out, and let our voices speak for us...we will be heard one day, even if it isn't within our lifetime..but in order for that to happen, we have to strive, and struggle, just like those before us."

"Why did you ask me all of that, if you knew it was going to upset me..." Nao queried, fixing her hair, pulling it out of her eyes.

"My mind has been on Shizuru...I've got to wonder what type of life she's lived." Natsuki explained, though she figured Nao had caught wind of that. "When I came here, I was not yet at the onset of womanhood, but I wasn't a tot either. All I can remember is crying at the orphanage, thinking that I didn't have anyone anymore. I'd only met my dad a few times before that. Who would have thought that an American drafted against his will would end up falling in love with my mom?" It was after all, normally an unfounded idea. "I never thought he would come for me, he had to fight hard to bring me back here...I didn't want to leave Japan at first, but he told me something. Land is land, and even if you find riches, you wont find happiness. Dad really has been good to me, you know?"

"He hasn't beaten you within an inch of breath yet." Nao said, and not entirely in jest either. "That's got to be rare."

"It is, but...I came here, standing next to my dad in childlike delirium. Back then, I thought dreams could go so much further. I wanted to find something, even as a child...I feel as if, for the first time ever in my life, I've found a person who sees things the way I do." Natsuki said then as she sat back down at her desk, partaking herself a cigarette. "I know for a fact, Shizuru's father wouldn't hear of her being with another woman. He thinks highly of her, and would never accept anything but normalcy." Outside the voices of a few young men wafted into earshot. "If he ever found out what his daughter may have to face..." Natsuki sighed, knowing they may throw rocks, or try to burst open the metal door. "It would be a dismal day indeed."

"Guard your heart." Nao said then, folding her arms. "You don't need love, it's all rubbish anyway."

"Oh, but I do. Everyone does, even if they don't show it." The way Natsuki said it called for something...someone more, and it made Nao sigh.

"Then you, my friend, are fit to be tied."

…

Natsuki sighed, tapping her finger on her desk as it neared late into the afternoon.

Sitting in front of her happened to be a strip of paper with a number on it, and in her other hand she fiddled with the idea of actually picking up the phone. Lost now, for the forth hour in a row, she couldn't work, and couldn't nap. She was restless, food something that had no flavor, and the radio providing little in the way of entertainment. She thought to go see a friend of hers, who actually owned a television, but decided not to even try. Her mind would make each picture into something entirely new, she could just fathom the blush on her cheeks at the mere hint of the variety show.

She needed a distraction, but she knew the more she pushed the thought away, the more Shizuru would linger in her mind, playing trickery even in absence. A cold shower and a hot meal wouldn't save her, but perhaps, if she were to call, and take a listen to the sweet sound of her voice, all could be solved. She knew that too, was highly unlucky, but it was the best she could do, unless, she could convince the younger woman to meet her out for a day out. The very thought of a movie tickled her fancy, of which Natsuki was sure a double feature would be playing. Still, she was sure it would look odd, picking Shizuru up after having called her.

It was all out of the question...she couldn't go through with it...but, she could at least, pay Shizuru a visit. She feared she was just being paranoid, but even so, she decided to go upstairs and get dressed. She didn't want to risk her heart, or her mind, playing tricks on her.

She found a pair of Chinos that she tossed on, and then wrapped her breasts tightly in bandages before pulling on a white v-cut shirt and a black sports coat that she left open. Atop her head, mostly to help conceal her eyes from few that would dare question her, she selected a black fedora with a silver strip of cloth around it. She smirked...she was passable, but, questionable. She was sure a few people were going to comment on her long hair, or girlish face. Still, it was uncanny for a woman her age to dress like that, so surely most would leave her alone even if they knew, thinking it odd of her to do such a thing.

People tended to avoid the unknown.

With that, and Shizuru's address in mind, she exited out of the back door of her home, knowing there was very little else she could do. A few bills in her wallet, a jingle of coins, and the bright sun made her smile. Her favorite brand of cigarette hung loosely from her grin as she strut down the city streets with her hands in her pockets. The picketers outside non the wiser as she snickered at their tomfoolery. Life was good, the day was grand, and as far as she was concerned, she was off to drop in on a friend, simply because she happened to be uptown.

It was the perfect alibi, even if she would have to take the train just to get there.

Shop owners sold their doodads and trinkets to the passers by. Restaurants and corner carts gifted everything from sweet to savory, calling hungry guests. The afternoon was just right for a brisk stroll. Not not at all cold, and yet, a subtle breeze just strong enough to sway the leaves that adorn the trees. She contemplated the candy shop that wafted a sweet, inciting melody. One of freshly made chocolates, hand pulled taffy, and finely intricate sugar creations. Their cakes were to die for, and their penny candy attracted the younger crowed.

A few of the drug stores that she passed, had young drones romancing beautiful gals, buying them a soda, or perhaps sharing a float. Natsuki continued walking but in the back of her mind, she thought about how often in the past she'd wanted to do those things. To romance a young woman, one such as herself. To buy flowers, or even to kiss her on the cheek in public, to hold her hand and as they walked down the street...perhaps, she was indeed a romantic at heart, but, with a dour expression back in her youth, that she'd concluded it wouldn't ever happen. She accepted that, at the very least...

However, she found herself quite smitten with Shizuru, and for whatever reason, Natsuki didn't sway herself to resist the call of intrigue.

When she finally reached the quaint little house, she noted that flower beds were often tended. The grass was green, and the porch aged. A cozy little home, made for the comfort of a little family. Fumbling with the coins in her pocket, she knocked on the front door before she put out her cigarette, concealing the butt before the door opened. She grinned when she saw a gentleman, who she had the chance to meet many times before. "Mr. Fujino." Natsuki tipped her hat. "It's a pleasure."

"Well, if it isn't Natsuki. Still the oddity as ever I see." His words were dry, as he smirked at the girl who was not quite so little anymore. "It's good to see you. Been years since I last gazed upon such a preposterous girl." Then a frown fell upon his face. "I do hope your father is well..." It was the only reason he could think of for Natsuki to pay his home a visit.

"Dad's fine. His ticker is just as strong as it was last he went to the doctor." Natsuki said then, taking off her hat completely. Her green eyes of emerald shimmered softly, as she smiled. "Of course, if you were to ask him, he'd likely blame me for addling him."

"You do tend to do that, now don't you." The grumble was soft, but not harsh as he nodded. "So then, if your father is well, then why the visit?"

"Actually, I'm here to gossip with Shizuru." Natsuki's grin, troublesome as he'd remembered it, caused the man to shake his head. "I've got nothing better to do today, unless of course, I went out to harass the poor dressmakers."

"Oh, please don't do that...you've done quite enough of that in youthful stupor." He said thoughtfully before something Shizuru had mentioned clicked. "A woman indeed." He spoke cryptically, nodding to himself. "I thought you were a mere paper gal. I had no idea you were in the position to hire someone, let alone be the head of the bureau. Moving up in this world, aren't you, Natsuki."

Natsuki shook her head. "I'm merely a shareholder I'm afraid. I don't own the company by myself." Then for good measure she took to bowing down in weakness to the male ego. "A women couldn't possibly own a bureau as large as a dealer for newspapers, and you should know that." She wasn't about to say that the other shareholder was also a woman. It was indeed rare for women to own such a thing, but, she wasn't just a simple little lady. She had aspirations, and she was intent of following them through.

"No, I suppose not." He nodded, satisfied with that answer, it appealed to his own ideal about a woman belonging in the home. "Though, if a woman ever could own something as grand as that, it would have to be a woman such as you." He was fond of Natsuki, though it seemed that she hadn't outgrown her insistence on wearing clothes suited only for boys...no, instead she had grown from lad's overalls, into a man's Chinos. "I'll fetch Shizuru, please wait here." Something about that tickled him, thinking it amusing. "Shizuru, an odd duckling as wandered over to our door." He called for her, stepping away to find the young woman.

"This is quite the surprise." The voice Natsuki so loved to hear played in the air. When Shizuru came to the door, wearing a bright yellow dress, her hair drifting freely, framing her face, Natsuki beamed. The woman in front of her was gorgeous. "I had no idea you knew my father." Shizuru jovially told Natsuki as she closed the door behind her. A tiny handbag clasped in her palm, keeping only a select few items. "Although, you have impeccable timing, I was just off to go shopping. Any later and you might have missed me entirely."

"Lucky guess." Natsuki shrugged as they walked down the path. "As far as your father goes, Tadao Fujino is a client of my dad. They used to meet every other week to discuss investments, and he would come to visit after, normally prattling on about things that I didn't care about. They're pretty good friends, actually."

"Then, as their daughters, it would be only fitting that we also become friends, isn't that correct?" Shizuru asked, though she kept her eyes on the road ahead of her. "Well, I have a headline for you. Friends do not linger continually in the back of my mind." With a rueful little laugh, she rolled her eyes. "Father thinks I'm pining over some young man."

"Little does he know." Natsuki nodded, but then she frowned, her voice dropping to a quiet tone, so that others around her wouldn't hear. "In times like these, no one can know about something as wrong as this." There was an unspoken connection between them, and that understanding made everything even more dire. "You won't have many allies, and you could lose any of the friends that you think you may have. This...it isn't normal."

"Social butterfly though I am, I don't have many true friends. There are times I doubt if they like me at all." The first shop they came across, the grocer, was merely a quick step in and out, Shizuru merely handing the gentleman at the counter a slip of paper and a few bills attached. "Much like you, I often question the world in which we live, something Father tells me shall be my greatest setback."

"I wouldn't think that to be the case." Natsuki's eyes fell upon a mother and two little tots she was leading by the hands. They were only one group of many that seemed to pass them by. "It is with childlike innocence that we should step where many dare not, and with an adult's perspective that we deem appropriate everything that is right and wrong. However, we can only conclude such morality, when we dare to strike out and act upon it. Love is very much the same."

"The odd young man makes a point." The shop keeper said, having been listening in with half an ear. "You sir, must be a scholar." He handed the finely wrapped package over so the Natsuki could carry it, and with a wave, he bid farewell to his two costumers, unbeknownst to the smirk on Shizuru's face, and Natsuki's well hidden frown. They walked to a few more stores, and the novelty of Natsuki hadn't worn off. The shopkeepers either ignored her, or mistook her for an obscure young man, something she didn't dare correct them on, but aggravated her all the same. The final store owner that they happened to visit, a boutique, was the very last straw on a very thin rope. Natsuki all but ran out of the the store, the woman inside either quite lonely or simply crazy, and Natsuki was unsure which it was.

"Such a strapping young man, Natsuki!" Shizuru had taken much amusement to the final little debacle.

"Not another word." Natsuki retorted. "Mark my words, I'll eat my fedora before I ever step foot in that place again."

"Oh, but if you do that, you'll have to go in to buy another." Shizuru said then as Natsuki rolled her eyes.

"I don't find this the least bit amusing." Natsuki grumbled, tilting her hat to hide her face all the more. "This is why I loathe going outside."

"Perhaps, if you dressed as a proper woman, you wouldn't have that issue." Shizuru said, a low burning pity in her eyes. "You can wear things besides dresses, things that would look simply lovely on you."

"I could, yes..." Natsuki couldn't though if she wanted to be left well enough alone. "However, dressed like this, I have a chance of being with you. No one questions what I may or may not do...as a woman, well, that's all the more different." She had the perfect cover, doing only things that a man would do. She was carrying all of the boxes and bags, her attire screamed of being a man, and though she was an oddity, she had been seen around town enough in such attire. "Dressed as a man, I simply have more freedom in my speech and actions. It's a pity, really, but it is something I've learned to deal with."

"What freedom is that?" Shizuru asked then, as they reached the front of her house.

"Well, for starters, I have the luxury to ask a beautiful young woman out to dinner." Natsuki said then with a soft smile. "If you would do me the honors, I'd be happy to pick you up tomorrow evening."

"Wouldn't that be a bit risky?" Shizuru felt butterflies in her stomach at the question. "I mean, I would love to dine with you, but-"

"Don't worry." Natsuki said with the gentlest touch of her finger upon Shizuru's lips. "It'll be a double date, and I'll see to it that everything goes flawlessly. There is strength in numbers, my dear, and I've learned this game quite well by now." With a pleading sparkle in her eyes she slowly removed her finger from those velvety lips. "Now then, would you like to have dinner with me. Would you please do me that honor?"

"Yes." Shizuru said then, lost within that gaze. It was impulsive perhaps, but she just couldn't deny Natsuki. "I'd be delighted to go." Her heart wishing to feel that hand in hers, she desired so much to feel even just one single embrace.

"Wonderful." Natsuki smiled with a nod. "I'll pick you up at seven tomorrow night." Though as she looked down she remembered something. "For now though, lets get these groceries inside and put away."

"Indeed." Shizuru led the way. "Then you should join us for tea."

…

The perfectly constructed lie needed players who could thwart others easily enough, and Natsuki knew there was only one man skilled enough for the job.

She thought him to be an idiot, but he was, at least, trustworthy. He was rash in his younger years, and brazen enough to hide the truth of his feelings. He and Natsuki had an understanding between them, that no matter what, they were little more than a cover story. Natsuki, who was openly gay, still battled to keep herself a secret from those she couldn't trust. That number was actually quite large. Most of her extended family had no idea, and a startling number of her friends would never be told, for pure safety if nothing more. The man in question was much the same, and he was completely closeted from his loving, but bigoted family.

Together they played the role well of a wayward on and off couple. Many thought they simply didn't fit with each other, but couldn't seem to do without each other either.

They'd managed to fool everyone around them who didn't know of the truth. Her father had taken a liking to him instantly, but that was perhaps the perfect reasoning, and her father wished dearly that they would get married. It wouldn't likely happen, unless one, or both of them were found out. Being married to each other would be a better alternative...the only other option would be having everyone slander and abuse them...or, quite possibly worse. That wasn't a fate she wished to ever see...and so, marriage was kept in the back of their pocket, as a last ditch resort for their safety, if little else.

The truth was, they were individuals by nature, and liked to stay that way.

Her deft fingers dialed a number that she knew by heart, calling him often for things of this nature. She waited for the ringing to stop, as he abruptly picked up the phone, something he did so often, it came as a second nature to hear a curse muttered as he dropped the receiver. "Who is it this time?" He muttered, it was late into the evening, and he already knew there was only one person who called so late, his formalities lost by the notion.

"Don't be ignorant." Natsuki said then, though she took humor his plight. "Listen, I wanted to know if you'd be interested in a double date tomorrow night, at seven sharp. You and a friend could meet up here, and we could all go together to pick up my date, how does that sound?" Natsuki asked, enjoying a freshly cut and lit cigar, something she rarely took joy in, but savored the good feeling in her heart, today's events bringing her warmth. It only added to the wonderfully sinful taste in her mouth.

"I don't know..." His voice was sleepy, but Natsuki could hear there was something else troubling him. "Reito hates that we have to keep lying about things, and he's getting to be a bit frazzled."

"Takeda, trust me, I'm at my wits end here too...but what does Reito think he can do, just take off and elope with you?" Natsuki could hear her friend and his dejected monotone. Takeda was in love, and lost by what to do. "You know our lives have to be this way for a reason."

"You and I know our fate." Takeda said then softly, almost painfully saddened and defeated. "Reito however, hasn't found a good cover yet, and his parents keep pushing women onto him, it's just getting difficult. He can't stand it, and I'm floundering here. It's getting harder to support him, when I know he's being forced into dating those women. Will it always be this hard?"

"It will be...until the day when people can open their eyes." Natsuki said then. She knew one day, sooner or later purely for appearances, she may actually end up marrying Takeda, but even if it did happen, it would only be fore show, something they'd become masters of for the public eye. "He knew getting involved with you would bring every sort of trouble, but he chose you Takeda, not the women that keep coming around. You've gotta admit, some of them were lookers. He's stayed faithful, and if he could find someone that clicked with him, that could play their cards as well as we play ours, it wouldn't be so hard."

"The lie will come up one day." Takeda said then.

"And when it does, we will get married." Natsuki shot back. "Then we claim infertility and leave it at that. Life goes on, just like before. Reito just needs to find someone who can put up with that, and what better person than the woman I wish to make mine." It was, and would forever be the perfect lie, and the key to their happiness. No one would suspect a thing, but, even if they did, no one would dare speak of it, the idea merely unfounded in and of itself. "I know you'd like to make an honest man out of Reito, but dishonesty is our key to survival, and to our happiness."

"Do you think he could ever find a woman who could get along that well with him?" That was indeed the truest question.

"Shizuru could..." Natsuki said then. "She could do it, and I guarantee you, she would never fall in love with him. My eyes are on her, and hers are on me."

"What if they do?" Takeda asked then.

"I swear to all gods in heaven that they won't." Natsuki said. "But if hell froze over, and they do happen to fall in love, at least we would have saved two people from our personal hell." Takeda got quiet at that and Natsuki sighed. "One dinner out, that's all I'm asking...after that, if Reito hates her, then I won't get the two of you involved, but I really think Shizuru could be the one for me, and I don't want to lose that chance...I want to be able to love her, and show her that being in a love like ours is possible, and this is the only way I can."

"Alright..." Takeda could hear the pleading in Natsuki's voice and knew it was impossible to decline the offer. Natsuki would take Shizuru on that date come hell or high water, and the danger in that didn't sit well with him...it did, however, gift him the tiniest bit of comfort. "I'll tell Reito about dinner tomorrow when I see him at the factory. We'll meet at your place at six, and grab your gal at seven...I just hope you know what you're doing."

"I haven't the slightest." Natsuki said then. "Thank you though, for understanding."

"You can thank me by catching the tab." Takeda chuckled then, put at ease by her happy tone.

"The money will be in your pocket before we even leave my flat." With the agreement in place, Natsuki bid her farewell, a small smile on her face. Life was indeed good, but she intended on making it grand.

* * *

I hope everyone liked the chapter, I'll get onto the next one sooner or later...right now though, I'm going to go to bed. Nighty night all!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I love snow and cold! (not...) Anyway my wonderful internet connection being what it is at the moment, which is anything but civil to speak of, I've not had the chance to properly update. Thank you all who who are giving your support, it means a lot. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter.

**Inky Black Redemption  
Chapter 4**

The office was busy, but not completely hectic. Natsuki went about working on her latest and greatest masterpiece, sighing dejectedly, when she'd heard people shouting at Nao from across the street. It came not as a shock, but a disappointment that the ruckus had made her misspell a word. She found that the little strips she used to blot ink were empty, and that irked her. Stepping out into the hall, where Yukino sat pattering away on a few documents, she nodded to herself. Yukino was swimming in paperwork. By the contrast, Shizuru's desk was clean, nearly spotless and organized to perfection. It was the perfect spot to find some unused strips, though, that wasn't what greeted Natsuki when she first pulled the top drawer open.

Crumpled papers seemed to be shoved near the back, and while Natsuki often didn't finder herself one for prying, she found it rather odd that Shizuru would be hording random scraps of paper. She plucked one nearest to her, and tried to smooth out the horrifically crumpled mess. She'd expected many things, Shizuru's creativity being one of them, but this surpassed her expectations. The first few lines were something that brought her great interest. After peeking up at the hallway, she gathered the other little torn bits and carried them into her office, shutting the door behind her.

None of the entries were long, little tidbits here or there. However, that wasn't Natsuki's point of interest. Instead, her eyes focused on the things between the lines, the points when the words seemed to cut off, as if, for whatever reason, the typist had pulled themselves from whatever inward prison they'd found themselves in...forgoing even finishing the mere thought, let alone an entire page. The content was lack luster, but still a diamond, one waiting to be polished, and it was with that idea in mind, Natsuki found herself playing with the tatters, as if they were a puzzle to unravel.

Natsuki smirked at that, an idea had come to her attention. She began to place a new clean sheet of paper into the machine before setting to work collecting only the finest segments, ones that could be salvaged, or at the very least, rewritten. she took the latter and put those in a folder. It took well over an hour to put back together Shizuru's tattered array of musings, ones that seemed to be just long enough to tease a person, but short enough to be little more than blurb. She eyed the paper in front of her, and carefully sipped her soda.

If she were to propose to Shizuru such an idea as this, the woman would need protection, a solid one.

_Written musings by Viola._ Natsuki wrote freehand across as a pad of paper...then, she decided against it. She crossed most of it out. _Viola._ She liked that name, something hard to predict, hard to read...nearly unidentifiable. _Viola_...she wrote the name and then sighed aloud. "Viola...a woman who provokes the most uncanny of things...as if to call forth questions most of a common mind would not dare to think..." She muttered to herself before coming up with the perfect title for the segment. She filed the little number away in her desk, something to bring up in conversation later as she returned to her own staggering work.

She felt so new and invigorated that she fervently typed away at the keys as if they were her very breath. She hadn't even noticed that lunch had arrived until Shizuru came walking in with Natsuki's portion. "Someone seems a bit busy." Shizuru commented putting Natsuki's meal in front of her. "Newly inspired, or perhaps just irritated at the world?" She frowned at the the glare that eyes seemed to burn into Natsuki's compilation.

"A bit of both." Natsuki said then as she turned off her typewriter with a gentle voice. "Although honestly, I've had my mind on other things recently." Natsuki bit her lip then, tonight's date on her mind. With her judgement clouded on what to wear, she found that typing anything was beyond difficult. She knew that was particularly odd, since she was not normally the type to get so giddy over a date. Truth be told, as Takeda often took great pleasure in, Natsuki rarely dated at all. Her interest in others very select, and generally fleeting at best. "I've arranged a bit of a cover for us this evening, so don't be alarmed when a strapping young man comes to the door."

"You've taken great care into planning this little outing of ours, haven't you?" Shizuru's comment offhanded and jovial, as she contented herself with the kettle of water that sat atop a hotplate. Fresh tea at the forefront of her mind, as she always enjoyed during her lunch break. "I do hope that you've managed to get something written, in the least."

"A swing, and a miss." Natsuki's reply twofold. "I wouldn't say I've planned out all that much of our day, but it has been keeping me thoroughly distracted." Natsuki answered then, in between a bite of her meal, and clearing her desk of any papers that might suffer if she didn't. Her salad was covered in mayo, to the point that the once leafy greens had wilted. "I have regular haunts, so to speak, and it really is an easy choice. Though, since it is a double, for our own protection, I've made sure that our partners in crime are at lest good friends. Takeda, like us, often wishes he could have a night on the town, without having people stare at him."

"Then I guess it's a good thing you've invited him along." Shizuru was about to sit down, to enjoy a short natter, when Haruka's voice came bellowing through the hall like a wrecking ball. "Oh my, what happened this time?" Shizuru inquired as both she and Natsuki gazed down the long corridor, only hearing the shouting, and not seeing the cause.

"Oh, there are any number of reasons why Haruka bellows." Natsuki disregarded it. "Haruka would have come in the room spitting fire by now, if it had truly been something drastic. Nao probably said something to upset her again. It happens often enough, though, I suppose Chie could have been caught with Aoi...the two of them do tend to cause a stir." The work in her desk came to mind, Shizuru's musing, to be spoken of at a later date perched at the tip of her tongue. "I wouldn't worry, come sit and enjoy your meal." She wished she could idly discuss something of the sort. Still, now was not the time, and though her fingers rested on the metal handle of her drawer, she knew well to keep a low profile. "Tell me, when you decided to apply here, just what sort of position were you intending to find?" Still, like a kitten to water, Natsuki found herself splashing in the low tide.

"I'm sure this comes as a shock, but, I honestly didn't have a plan." She'd played with many ideas when she'd first written her resume. The mere idea of even working in any environment seemed better than staying at home. "I let my mind trifle around here and there, but in the end, I knew I'd be happy to just be hired. This place is different Natsuki, so much in fact, that I find myself amazed every time I walk through those doors." If it was Natsuki's cool exterior towards most, or Haruka's brash temper, Shizuru remained unsure. She knew there would never be an environment quite like this one, a motley set of coworkers only part of the magic.

"So, you never thought to get into journalism directly." Natsuki nodded. "Quite odd really, since you strike me as the type to want to venture out. I know you well enough by now, to know that you are by far nothing of what your resume states." No, Shizuru went above and beyond the simple words on that paper. "You remind me a lot of Nao, in her younger years. Plenty enough to say, but no way in which to say it. Though, I assume that's what makes you so interesting. Even when you first came into my office, I knew that you were of an inquiring mind."

"That's kind of you to say." Shizuru said meekly, unsure of where Natsuki's words were stemming from.

"I mean it, and not just because of my interest in you." Natsuki said then, her thumb running across the cold metal, and she wished she could say something, but she knew now, Shizuru was becoming meek, as if she could be one of those flighty writers. "Everyone here has a chance to write at least one article. We work here because we want a voice, and if you ever want to speak yours, Shizuru, you need only to ask, and I will enable you. It's what I've done for everyone here, and you would be no different."

…

The long workday finally came to an end, but not before Nao had managed to harass the picketers with some spoiled garbage, the cause for Haruka's ranting now well known. As if that weren't enough, one of the machines insisted remaining on the fritz, and being one machine down was an increasing amount of work. Some would be staying late into the night, purely to play catchup. Natsuki would usually be apart of the crew, as would Nao and Chie, the three of them often pulling more hours than all of the others. Purely out of passion, not obligation. Still, Natsuki's evening was already preoccupied, so although she persisted when others went home, there too had to come a time when she vacated her desk, leaving Nao and Chie alone.

Some would question it, most would think her stupid...but she knew well she could trust them. It also helped that she bribed them with some extra pay from her own pocket if things went by smoothly. Though for some, the pocket coins offered seemed unimportant, Nao knew that with it, she could afford her mother's medicine for another day. She'd be a fool to pass that up. She would behave and work, merely for that alone. Chie, who lived by herself, took joy in sticking her nose into details that was not her own. She did it with a spring in her step, so long as she could dish out the dirty details. Natsuki only had to promise the woman free rein on a few of her more deplorable topics, and Chie was well enough amused.

So, with the residual work safely in check, Natsuki prepared for her date...though, she found it harder than she thought it would be.

It wasn't often that she would put on a dress, she loathed the attire completely. It was even more of a rarity that she would put on any sort of makeup, and when she did, she made point to select only the minimum required amount. Still, she took pride in the fact that she could look drop dead amazing in the little number she had on, if only she chose to do so, and for Shizuru, she would. It was a cocktail dress in blue, and the heels she chose with it, while not very high, did give her calves that extra lift she'd been hoping for. She knew she was stunning, but she also knew how often that would attract problems.

There were many young men who often tried to grasp onto even just a moment of her attention when she dressed as a woman should. That was why she preferred to avoid their attention at all cost. She also couldn't deny the fact that the clothes men donned were far more comfortable. She almost didn't recognize herself in the mirror, the first gander something of a shock, and she sighed a shaky breath.

Her boggled mind was easily noticed by her companions. "You look just fine, Natsuki." Takeda told her, both in truth, and in comforting jest. "If we don't hurry out of here we'll be late. You can't keep a lady waiting, it's rude."

"Don't startle the poor girl." Both of these men were tall, dark, and handsome. Reito's charm was not only in his looks, but his princely like demeanor, something the women would fawn over at the drop of a hat. "We've got plenty of time." He was of slender build, but also a strong, gentle man, who's eyes shimmered with kindness and unfounded loyalty. His hair was jet black, and cropped short. However, he, unlike his dark features and simple smile, was indeed true gentleman.

"You drive like a snail." Takeda said then, a truthful statement. "If we put him behind the wheel, we'll never make it in time." Takeda was a strapping, brazen man, who's outgoing and forthcoming demeanor often dazzled the ladies. Unlike Reito, who enjoyed a suitable flirt here or there, normally rejected oncoming advances, his heart for one, and one alone. His hair, a dark brown, like a shadow to his deep completion, something of an oddity that gifted him many a problem. "I should drive."

"Are you daft?" Finally she found her purse and was thankful it still looked to be in good condition, considering she'd left it in the corner of her closet. "I'll be the one driving tonight, besides, I'm the only one who knows where Shizuru lives." Natsuki's words were law, as she was likely the best driver, though she herself didn't own a vehicle. It was simply out of her budget, and out of the realm of possibility, knowing she'd have no place safe to put it. "When we get to the house, Reito will go and sweep her up. To be honest I can't wait."

"I loathe being the errand boy." Reito said as he rolled his eyes, pocketing the money Natsuki had given them. "Is she at least a prim and proper young woman?" She had promised to pay for their meals, knowing that the personal friend of theirs was not a cheep place to eat, remotely. It was, however, safe...and she liked the idea of safe. "I'd hate to be over dressed." Both of the men were in suits, even if the occasion didn't quite call for it.

"Well, she isn't Nao." Natsuki replied back, a small smirk on her face at Reito's deject sigh. "Shizuru was raised in a household of good christian people, with good christian morals...and her parents want to wed her off to a proper young man...only the best for their daughter." Natsuki muttered as she led them outside and through the back door.

"So, in other words, everything that you are not. I see, though, it makes perfect sense." Reito sighed then, understanding why he would be the one doing the pick up. "I'm going to burn in the pit of hell for this." His bold declaration earned merely a snort in response and he felt at a loss. "I do hope her parents won't expect me to get jolly with her."

"Even if they didn't, I would highly encourage it, within reason, of course." Natsuki said then, her voice low as they approached the parked ford. "I really like Shizuru, and if you would be so kind as to put up an act, we'd finally be in the clear. I could properly date Shizuru, and you could do the same with Takeda. This is in your best interest, just as it is mine."

"You and your big dreams." Reito said then, though he handed Natsuki the key as he said it. "I doubt anyone could keep up."

"Reito, my love, I think you're missing the point. No one needs to keep up." Takeda's voice though deject, was filled with his version of the truth. "She intends to bring the future to us, not the other way around. Such a foolhardy woman should know better. One day, she'll be discovered, mark my words."

"I'll mark them in my blood, should it ever fall from my body." Natsuki said then, the tone honest, and slightly fearful. "Even so, I would do it with a smile, not even death would be a worthy opponent for my happiness, if I could be with Shizuru for one more day. I would regret nothing, I assure you."

"I was afraid you'd say that." Takeda finally gave in with a sigh falling from his lips as they drove through the city. "Natsuki, I implore you, please be careful. It isn't every day you find your eye caught on something, and now that it's set on a woman, I fear you may just be ill prepared."

"I don't need a lamb skin, and she isn't a concubine." Natsuki said then, a smirk on her face as she peered at the two men in the back seat. "I fail to see how I'm ill prepared."

"Natsuki...this alibi won't hold out forever." Takeda's low warning uttered in simple defiance. "Be mindful of that." It was his silent plea, and she knew it.

"Leave her to her fun." Reito said then, putting his hand on Takeda's shoulder, trying desperately to comfort him. "We've found happiness and warmth, and we also risk a great deal by doing so. You've no right to scold her, or continue to prattle on like some old buffoon." He knew Takeda cared for Natsuki, and though he would never be in love with her, there was a profound attachment that no one would dare speak of. "All will go well, you'll see."

"This evening surely will." Natsuki's voice filled with hope at that. "Everything beyond that, not even god has the foresight to see." The rest of the drive was endured in mostly comfortable silence, though she noticed the soft gleaming in Reito's eyes, something of a smirk on his lips as Takeda rolled his eyes in dismay. They were an odd pair, even she could admit that, but, she dare not say a word, her eyes focusing on the road ahead.

…

"Really father, if you'd kindly leave the window alone, I'm sure time wouldn't pass by so slowly." Shizuru said as she sipped her tea. "A watched pot never boils, you know."

"I just wish you would have told me of your date earlier." Her father grumbled absentmindedly, the thick glasses upon the bridge of his nose seeming to slip at every notice. "I'm always kept out of the loop, it's such a travesty. You're my only daughter Shizuru, and I intend that you find the care of a good man."

"Tadao dear, come sit down and read, you look like a loon." Suzume sighed as she focused on the book that occupied her eyes, though she had an urge to roll them at her husband, his antics childlike and questionable. He could be a very playful man, but to do it in front of the large window spoke of little more than trouble.

"Haven't you any bit of interest in Shizuru's young man?" The grumpy retort was met with a quiet glare and he sighed. "I'm just acting as a concerned father would." He then turned to his daughter again, curiosity tickling him, the mere idea of her finding a suitor both frightening and exciting. "You really should tell me about this boy. I haven't heard a peep about it."

"There really isn't much to tell, Father." Shizuru didn't have anything she could say to that, his questions becoming both bothersome and taxing. She needed to get creative, little white lies in the back of her mind, though she didn't want to use them. "He's kind, well educated, good looks, and a hard worker...at least, according to what I've heard." Shizuru tallied off all that she could, in hopes that perhaps she could persuade her father to leave her alone. "Natsuki invited me along on a double, and I thought it might be fun, but I'm as blind as you are." She didn't want to lie, but if he kept it up, she'd have to start.

"Of all the people to trust." Tadao sighed dejectedly. "Natsuki is a nice girl, don't get me wrong, but she is a bit..." He couldn't think of a nice way to say things, and merely shook his head. "She's a very odd little duckling, who's seemed to confused herself. She acts as if she were a prince instead of a swan." It was the nearest thing he could come up with. Even that description lacked something.

Shizuru suppressed a smile at that. Natsuki was quite princely in her own, subtle ways. However, before she could come up with a proper defense, her mother thankfully cut in. It was a rarity, but a gift, during times like this. "Shizuru is plenty old enough to make her own assumptions." Suzume said quietly as she sipped on the tea she had next to her. "She doesn't need us to do it for her. Besides, when this boy comes to the door, you'll get a glimpse of him then." It was at that, when the car pulled up. Natsuki and Takeda exiting the car to stand on the street corner, while a strapping young man dressed to impress meandered up the walkway with flowers in hand. "See there he is now." Suzume offered gratefully, returning to her book.

"Oh goody." A low rumbling laugh came from Tadao's belly. "Now I can meet this lad." The women shared a look at the jovial tone that slipped from his lips. An inward sigh they dare not breath, something they agreed upon.

"You keep away from that door Tadao, don't go making trouble." Suzume warned, not allowing for any debate.

Tadao thought about that as he took in the appearances before him. Natsuki was actually dressed as a proper woman, something he hadn't seen in all of his memory. She was beautifully dressed, and the young man next to her was of respectable people, he knew that boy's family personally. The other one, he had never met before, but still understood the implication. Tadao nodded approvingly, seeing that the boy coming to their door was properly suited to the occasion, and looking man enough to trust.

Even as he escorted their daughter out for the evening, he did so with a positive stride in his step, confidence in his eyes, and a gentle smile, thankfully from the neck up. "That boy better treat her carefully." Tadao grumbled as he watched them enter the car and drive away. "Hopefully, with any luck, she'll be home at a respectable hour."

"And even if she were to dance until dawn, you'd best not complain." Suzume finally told him, wagging her finger in a scolding manner. "You may be king of this house, but I'm still the queen, and if you so much as utter one peep at her for going out with that young man, you'll be eating your dry cleaning. I surely won't cook for a pig headed dictator."

Her husband merely frowned and crossed his arms. Such a threat, while true, was not of his concern. "You aren't worried in the slightest?" Tadao asked his wife then, genuinely curious about that aspect.

"Tadao, she's a young woman." She told him as she turned the page in her book. "Even if she dares not speak of what her heart desires, she still holds them near at all times. That's just the way we women are. We dare not have our fathers know about what we do, you know I surely never spoke to my father about us." She smiled then, the perplexed look that fell over his normally stern face something comical. "I'll fish around for details later, but only after Shizuru is willing to dish them out. Leave her alone until then."

…

"Oh you should have seem him. I thought he was about to burst." Two couples sat around the table in the back corner as Shizuru regaled them on her father's misadventure. "He kept toying with the hems of the drapes, as if that would make time go by faster. It was highly amusing. Honestly, I wish we'd have had a photographer for that one." Their refuge of choice was a place Shizuru had never eaten at, but the smells were divine. It wasn't exactly a hub for the youngsters, but, it didn't attract an older crew either. The place a quiet lounge, a safe seclusion, owned by a good friend of three of them.

"I'll bet." Natsuki chuckled then as their food came. "Then again, you should have seen it from our perspective, his jaw was nearly on the floor. I thought he was trying to catch flies."

"Father has a tendency to excite himself over the silliest things." Shizuru nodded, thanking the waitress with a nod when her small dinner salad landed softly in front of her. "You know, there could have been any number of things he could have been imagining. That meddlesome mind of his never seems to find rest."

"With all of his fawning at the window, I half expected him to follow you out to the car." Natsuki smirked then. "He looked at me as if I'd grown a second head."

"Well, I'm sure he assumed you'd be dressed in your usual attire." Shizuru laughed at the idea. "He always refers to you as some sort of confused duckling."

"That doesn't honestly surprise me." Mai barged into the conversation with an exasperated tone, continuing to serve the food. "Natsuki is odd, nearly to the point I wonder if she really is a man underneath all of her bluster."

"If I was a man, at least I'd be a better one than the coward you call a husband." Natsuki's tactless retort earned her a glare from her friend and waitress. She ignored Mai completely, and just smiled at Shizuru. Then she crossed her arms, and shook her head at fond memories that she pretended to hate. "Your dad used to make so much fun of me, saying I might as well have been a boy. I don't think he's ever seen me in a dress, since when I was younger I refused to wear them. I'll bet I gave him a fright. It serves him right, I say."

"Come now, don't be so rude." Reito sighed at the banter. Natsuki's soft barbs were in good nature, giving Shizuru a genuine smile. "I'm sure your father is a wonderful man, though, I do think he could do with a hobby of some kind." It was then, that his rich, thick steak was placed in front of him. "Ah, Mai, thank you for the wonderful food, and the reprieve." He told the carrot top waitress as she also filled up his glass with more ice water.

"Not a problem." The busty redhead shrugged. "We're closing in a few minuets anyway." Then she looked at the newcomer, and then to Natsuki. She didn't like the fact that she was hiding gays here, but they were close friends, and she couldn't deny them, even if she, herself couldn't agree with it. "I suppose you'd like the blinds closed, and the radio on?" Either way, she could hide in the back kitchen with her husband all night if she wished. It bothered her very little, as long as she didn't have to see what might be going on.

"That would actually be wonderful." They all could agree on that, though it was Natsuki who spoke up first.

Mai nodded with a sigh. "I don't want to see it, hear of it, or even think of it." Mai told them all then, as if that was her warning. "No monkeying around of any kind, least you all burn images into my mind."

"You won't hear a thing, I assure you." Reito grinned. "I'd have Takeda home well before that point." Mai didn't dare comment on that one, knowing Reito's personality. Natsuki snickered behind her napkin as the others smiled outwardly. The busty woman waved them off and left them to their meals in the privacy of the empty room. She didn't want any further part in their little scheme, and was happy to stay in the back until they decided to finish their evening.

"You'll have to excuse Mai and Tate...when all of us are in the same room together, it bothers them." Natsuki said then, taking a rather large bite of her thick beef burger. Her smirk seemed to be plastered to her face. "Mai's a good friend, but she can't understand our feelings."

"That's putting it mildly." Takeda said then under his breath. "Still, there are many people who love and support us, even if they don't understand. The only issue is, they really don't like it, and honestly don't approve. I'm sure Mai would intervene if she had any inclination that doing such a thing would work. She knows the truth though, that it can't be changed."

"It must be wonderful, hiding behind such a well constructed lie. I imagine it gifts you unimaginable freedom to act out in love." Shizuru said softly. "I'll bet it's amazing."

"Only if the lie works." Natsuki said then, partaking of the soda on the table. "To be honest, sometimes I fear that it may not, and if we're ever found out, everything we dream of would be taken away." Still as she reached out, pushing a lock of fawn behind Shizuru's ear, she shook her head, her voice soft. "Yet, I still dare to make my dream a reality, and I'll do that in whatever way I can."

"What Natsuki's trying to say, is that we'd like you to complete our little white lie." Reito said then, as he put down his knife and fork. "You see, outwardly Natsuki and Takeda appear to be young lovers, and they've managed to fool a great number of people. I myself have yet to find a woman who can compliment such a thing for me, but, my eyes are only for Takeda. I don't wish to make a dishonest woman out of anyone, when my heart is only for him alone."

"Mine is surely empty without you around, Shizuru." Natsuki replied then. "I'd like for you to be by my side, to open your heart for me alone, but, the problem is, in this world teaming with hate, there is only one safe way of doing that. Let Reito protect you, and let me embrace you. I assure you, you won't regret it." Takeda led Reito off to go dance giving Natsuki and Shizuru some privacy, and Natsuki wordlessly thanked them from across the room, a subtle glance all they needed before the two lovers got lost within their own whimsical night. "The two of them so rarely get the chance to go out, but when they do, they come here."

"They seem lost within each other. Such a perfect couple." Shizuru felt awestruck seeing two grown men dance together, flitting across the floor, both of them wonderful dancers. "There is indeed a beauty when love finds a person, regardless of who it happens to be with."

"I've always wanted something like that myself." Natsuki nodded as she went back to her food, thinking of Mai's cooking, always a treat in and of itself. "Though, I wouldn't say they're perfect, in fact sometimes I think they're both unfit for each other...you should see how they fight, it's nearly explosive." Though, outwardly, she doubted anyone would be able to tell of such a thing now. Their longing gazes something that would easily send even the most devoted lovers into a jealousy unmatched. "It's such a shame they aren't able to be truthful about their feelings."

"If they wish to be lovers, I doubt they have a choice. It must be so difficult." Shizuru's words were a grim truth, and she frowned at her own realization. "I don't know if I can go on deceiving my family either. I've never been very good at it, and, I hate the idea of having to pick between love or a family."

"Simply don't." Natsuki said as she put her hand over Shizuru's own. "It can be difficult, but there are rewards that come from this. Being able to take you to a drive-in movie, and then dine with you...well, I would call that a gift of luck. To be here with you now, where I can express in words what I would never dare say otherwise, I believe there is freedom in that, but, it does come with a price."

Shizuru licked her lips at the thought of that, and sighed deeply. "I wish this didn't have to be so hard." With the low light reflecting shadows on the walls, the candles flickered with a depth that Shizuru wished she didn't have to see. "You are a beautiful woman Natsuki. Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like." There was longing in Natsuki's eyes, and it poured out freely from her voice with every word she spoke. "However, you know as well as I, this would never work...and if they find out, it would bring nothing but pain."

"Then I would let them come at me, my arms wide open." Natsuki said softly. "My love would be a testament to all that I've lived, the slander, the hate...it could paint the street red, and I wouldn't harbor any regrets. I could be beaten and bruised for all eternity, and I wouldn't regret a single moment, because when I began to speak out in the names of many, I decided to do it with my heart on the line." Shizuru's hand was warm, her eyes were safe, and her voice was a melody Natsuki couldn't do without. "But, Shizuru, I've made sacrifices because of it, one of them being my happiness. I may dress like a man, but I'm fully, and utterly a woman. I can't be soft, I can't waver, but that's a lonely life, and I don't want to be that way anymore."

"Natsuki, don't look at me in such need." Shizuru's voice betrayed her. "I can't deny you, when you look at me with type of expression. Don't make this harder on both of us...being born this way is bad enough, without trying to hide romance. I don't know if I can be strong enough to love anyone in the shadows, and so, I'd rather just not love at all...but being with you, it makes thing so difficult, and I thought, perhaps I could find some other way around my feelings...but the truth is, I simply can't. You consume me, Natsuki, and that's a very dreadful thing."

"It was because I was born like this, with this feeling for others like myself, that I can stand up to the slander. I do it for those who can't." With her shaking fingers, she reached out to cup Shizuru's cheek, the woman dared not pull away, but her hesitant gaze grew fearful at the all knowing distance that seemed to lessen between them. "Still, I need someone who will stand with me. I know it's reckless...but I just can't be friends with you, not when you drift into my mind every day. I worry about you, care about you...and if given time, I could-"

Natsuki pulled her hand away, realizing what she was about to do, sighing deeply as she instead began to eat her food. It was a lovely night, and she had enjoyed the show at the drive-in. Having Shizuru lean into her had been the best feeling in the world, and she would dare to do it again every weekend just for that warm feeling. The dinner she was eating now, late though it was, made her understand how lonely she was every night, eating without a sound, her mornings the same. Shizuru hadn't entirely rejected her, but she saw the wavering, lingering uncertainty within crimson eyes, and that had made Natsuki feel very fragile.

"You could what, Natsuki?" Shizuru breathed, waiting for the words she longed to hear. They didn't come, and would likely never be uttered. Still, as Natsuki's warm hand returned to her cheek, an unspoken understanding wafted through them, and it drew them in, their lips a silent reverie.

"Learn what this feeling means." Natsuki whispered then, a heated truth masked behind chivalry. "Tonight though, if I may, I'd like to indulge in a dance, and hold you in my arms. That alone would be enough for me, Shizuru, because it would fill my heart with hope, and you've no idea how badly I need that right now."

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Hope you all liked this chapter...the next one is written, but it's not typed up yet, and I spilled some coffee on it earlier when I was half asleep...so needless to say it'll be a bit before I have it typed and ready to be posted.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I hope you guys are enjoying everything thus far. Again, on an oldies kick, so thought it was time to do a little update because of that. Yes, it isn't very large or grand, but we will get back to shiz/nat in the next chapter. Please, read and review. I hope you all enjoy.

**Inky Black Redemption  
Chapter 5**

Natsuki woke up to the gray hues of the morning without enthusiasm. She groaned, a glorious night had come and gone, leaving a wakeful of reality once again...a truth she didn't want to accept. In he dreams she could do so much more, and be a better person. Still, she wasn't a child, she couldn't find herself lost for hours on end, a dream simply that. Morning had come, and it was time to move on with the new day.

Still, her fingers paused at the switch of her alarm, unsure of why she felt as of something was missing.

The blinds were drawn, and and though the light tried to reach through, it failed. The room remained colored in darkness. Sleepily Natsuki touched her lips, the lingering reminders of the woman she loved, something that made her breath deeply. They'd shared many a kiss, flitting around on the dance floor, something so easy, yet, so special. It seemed as if the night wouldn't ever end, but Natsuki knew better.

They'd toyed with the idea, and splashed in the depths of hope. However, to follow onward, to reach upward, it was an entirely different matter. To come up with a lie, and then accept it, well, at first it was a guilty feeling. Then, a fearful feeling, one never truly went away. Emptiness merged with happiness... it mingled into something fulfilling, and get, so very painful.

For not the first time, Natsuki wondered if Shizuru was capable to pulling through with it.

Her heart seemed hesitant to believe something like this could be possible, but it was a perfect alibi. She bit her lip, worried, knowing she had to get ready for work, but, a giddy fog had clouded over within her head. So many things swirling around within her, something only defined as love. It made her dawdle about the room like a waddling chick, unable to focus. It wasn't like butterflies. It could never be the deepest ocean, or the driest land. She wanted so much to call, as a young lover would, and offer to pick her up for the day ahead.

If she were still a young one in school, Natsuki would be like most drones after a cute girl. Picking her up, and walking her to school, and back. Buying a malt, sharing a lunch. There were so many things Natsuki missed out on, and although she knew how to mix and mingle with the ladies, never once had she found herself with captured interest.

She never held a vested worry over any woman. Never one that she cared about...one to hold gently and softly. She found herself in a pickle, Shizuru Fujino was trouble...

A very pleasurable kiss, like honey. A slender frame, Natsuki's hand fit so well on the small of Shizuru's back, guiding her expertly in ways Shizuru had never once experienced. She was a new love, an innocent love, a pure love. Tempting, and yet, Natsuki found herself lost in that gaze so deep. As she got dressed, and looked in the mirror, she realized her flat was empty. It was void of warmth, without care, and never a woman's touch...she sighed at that.

If only Shizuru were there, to cook a breakfast and warm her little home. Then, Natsuki could play a song, and have a cigarette before work. Sharing in a togetherness that never seemed to end. She dreamed of a day when she could bring flowers home...and take a woman she could call her wife out to the theater to see a play. She would pay a pretty penny on a new dress for her, and the tickets would be grand. She wanted that...to spoil the woman she loved, and to be, what others would only call a husband.

It was her reminder...this was not permissible...she could not feel the way she felt, not outwardly.

So, though regret it, she did, she cast aside her thoughts. It would be improper, to assume Shizuru felt the same after one single date. Even if she did, those thoughts were of blasphemy. Natsuki knew she hadn't any reason to have them. They were both women, very odd women. At least, Natsuki would agree to that much as she lit herself a lonely little cigarette, and drank a cup of ill prepared coffee. If she were doomed to live like this forever, she would not be surprised. Still, she knew she would forever long to have Shizuru at her side...the woman a lovely prize, fit for a prince to be king...

Not someone like herself. _"Besides, it will do little good. Addling my heart only makes me long for her further."_ She mentally chided.

She had no sooner entered the lower floor, through the unmarked door that she used, that there was already a ruckus in the hallway. "Chie..." Natsuki muttered looking off to the side. "Save me from the theatrics, and tell me what's going on." Fighting was normal, even perhaps routine within these walls, but never had Haruka ever thrown her personality around so viciously, her fingers in a white knuckled grip, holding Nao firmly into place.

"Oh, them?" With a pencil behind her ear, she looked up from the paper she'd been reading, a devilish smirk both flirtatious and appraising. "Nao made Yukino upset. They've been barking like that for nearly an hour. Honestly, I'm surprised they hadn't woken you up."

"I see." Natsuki sighed dryly, not in the mood to deal with such boisterous shows so early in the morning. "I'll leave them alone for now. Call me if things get heated, I don't want her to actually murder Nao."

"Sure thing, Boss." Chie then went back to doing what everyone normally did when Nao and Haruka fought. "I'll have that gossip segment on your desk in an hour." She pointedly ignored them. "Do whatever you want with it, I won't be here later though. Aoi got herself a lead for the next scoop, so as soon as I sign off, I'm outta here for the day."

"That's fine." Natsuki nodded then, turning around and shutting her office door behind her. She could still hear the shouting and though she tried to drown it out with music, she couldn't help but feel as if something was completely off. Her fingers fell upon the desk repeatedly, her mind wandering, but she knew she wouldn't get anywhere. With a snack in hand, and a sweet dark liquid fizzling away in the new bottle she opened, she decided she would set to work on her newest rant for the public eye. Her fingers danced across the keys slowly, unsure that this was such a good idea._"There are often not enough hours in a day, to express the mounting exasperation I feel. Each and every time I step out to enjoy a night on the town, I find my sanctuary limited."_

She didn't stop herself either though, the entry at least one for her diary, if it were indeed unfit to print. _"I could spin tails of dread and deceit, however, I think I'll save that for yet another day. Instead, I find myself on the edge of something far more delicate. I've decided to skip merrily along that very fine line, morality be damned by the god fearing people who are immoral themselves."_

She smiled at that. It was easy to forget. Many would find this outrageous, and yet even so, she couldn't keep her grin manageable. _"So, on this one day, I gift our tribune with something a bit more than my nonsensical ramblings. I'll give you a bone to chew."_ It was indeed, a bad idea. Still, it was something she wished dearly to say aloud, and if the was the only way she could, to confess her joys in such a place, then, she knew she would have to try. Perhaps it would enrage her readers, but she couldn't bring herself to care. _"__The evening sky painted hues of color and hope for me, and yesterday, I took a chance to find myself...to seek out something, for my wandering soul. I wanted to shine just as brightly as the stars above, and to feel a warmth that I do not often bask within."_

"_So, last night, in search of this, I kissed a woman. A woman, the same as me."_ She typed carefully. _"I felt happy, something so fleeting for a person such as myself. I was overjoyed, fearful, and even a little weak. These feelings are things that love makes you understand, and I've decided that I will be a sinner, when sinning feels right. I will pay the price, a toll found at heaven's gate, and not before. If I am to burn in hell for my actions, I do so with glee, something this world knows little about. I would freely give my life for such happiness. Still, the question I always ask, remains at the forefront of my staggering heartbeat. Even as I address you all, the supporters, the victims, and those who wish to see our downfall, I understand that no matter what I say, I will still be hated. Slander will still come forth easily, and I will still have to hide in the shadows."_ She put thought into that...

Of how many times she'd addressed the public in her writing. She was a vastly different person, hidden in the shadows, and she sometimes wished she'd had the courage to speak aloud. She wished she could speak things that she would dare not. _"What a pity that you all have such a mindset. What a disgrace, that the world must turn with bigotry. Pride is lost upon all of you, giving into such a primal need. In a country filled with hopes, and dreams...in a place where blood spills like a river, a price we paid for something that so many would take away...simply because of fear."_ She put her cigarette to her mouth. Her scowl something of concentration, as her darkest feeling poured from her.

They always seemed to do that during her work. _"In an unjustified world we will never have freedom, and that is something everyone must remember. You must hold it closely, or it shall be ripped away. Never forget that, or the dreams that brought you, and your kin here, to stand on soil etched in promises. I know I never will." _During her work, she gave voice to the depth, the seething truths she wished she could say aloud. She couldn't though. One mere mention of this on the streets, and she would lose her cover, and really, that was what annoyed her the most.

"Come in." She sighed, noticing the the soft knock on the door, knowing already who it was. "I haven't got all day."

"Sorry...I'll be brief." Chie entered the room again. "I just wanted to hand in the segment." The papers were hidden inside a folder, and were well protected, tied with a bit of of string. "I also think you should take time out of the day to inspect Nao's work load. Haruka really did end up putting more on her shoulders than normal."

"Is that what the fighting was about?" Natsuki asked halfheartedly, though her eyes still remained focused on the envelope that contained front page news.

"No. Haruka just got really aggravated, and you know how she is." It was all she could do not to pry her curious nose into the life of her boss. Natsuki was strangely docile, given the fighting that had gone on in the hall. She hadn't lost her nerve, something the woman of midnight tresses hadn't often been known for. Normally if there was a fight, she would be someplace in the middle. As a mediator, or one of the combatants, it wasn't uncommon for her to be in the fray. "You should have put a stop to it." It was an oddity that had come so easily. Natsuki's change in demeanor called unwanted attention, and Chie saw through the cloud.

"I can only stop their bickering so many times." Natsuki replied with a shrug of her shoulders and a sip of the soda she had nearby. "The two of them simply don't mesh, and while I agree, Haruka can be a bit harsh on the best of days, Nao did seem to stumble on forbidden ground." Rather, she knew the fight wasn't one she could break apart, so she merely let the blowout happen. "I'll go deal with Nao later, however, let it be a lesson to her as well. Haruka is her boss, even if she doesn't accept the fact."

"Yes another change of heart." Chie finally said softly, shaking her head, lost. "Boss, you've been acting really weird, and lately, it seems like you don't care about the company."

"I care about the newspaper, this place is like a family for us. I wouldn't cast that aside, ever. I can swear to you on any good book you wish, Chie." Natsuki was tired, and her lips were dry. The parchment between her fingers seemed unimportant, and with soft smile, she couldn't help but forgive herself of her momentary lapse of concern. "Look, Nao's young, she's just a kid, really. She doesn't understand now, because she's just angry at everything and everyone around her. I can't quell that, Chie, and lord knows I've tried."

"Then you really have changed." Chie's word seemed like law, and not simply a mere statement. "For better or worse, I don't know."

"Neither do I." Natsuki nodded back. "However, we can both agree, that I have found something. I intend to follow it, and try to understand it."

"Just don't get hurt along the way." It was a knowing reply, and one cradled in soft truths Chie would never really admit. "And be gentle...sometimes, we forget how fragile they really are."

"Speaking from experience, I take it." If that were the case, Chie would have have made an affirmative move. However, she merely stood there, her eyes gleaming with something she wouldn't say aloud, but with hesitancy, she licked her lips. The thing she wanted to say most was not something she could speak of. She didn't have the liberty to do so, it wasn't her burden to carry anymore.

"It isn't so easy, to call it experience, but I wouldn't say it's difficult to see." Instead, Chie took off the hat that she normally kept atop her locks of peppery hair, placing it over her heart. "There are many things that I wish I could have done differently in my life. There are others I know I should have. Natsuki, in a world such as ours, we overlook the things right in front of us, and take for granted the people who've always been there. I was once so easily overcome by feelings, that I let one of my best friends slip away from my fingertips. Looking back, if I could have done anything, it would have been to treat her gently, and protect her from my own blindness."

"An interesting notion, when you stop to think about it." Natsuki could agree, and she understood perfectly the implication. "I'm confused though, as to why you feel as if I need such advice."

"If I could answer that, then I wouldn't have felt the urge to speak at all...but surely, even you know me well enough to have gathered that much." She put her hat back atop her head, a soft smile upon her face as she nodded, walking out the door without so much as a farewell. Work, she had much of it to get done, and not enough hours in a day.

Natsuki merely chuckled to herself as she sat at her desk, letting her fingers caress her lips. Shizuru's taste lingered there. The memory of their kiss making Natsuki's heart swim. Try as she might, she couldn't focus, and instead she let her mind drift off as her eyes closed. _"Perhaps, in subtle ways, I am changing."_ She thought as she let her fingers run over the smooth metal handle of her desk. _"However, if that is indeed the case, what concern should it be of anyone else."_ They worried for her, cared about her well being. _"Shizuru, she is good for me, and I would expect happiness, not concern. Clearly, I've never displayed such joy in front of them before, such a pity. I really should begin to share that side of myself, perhaps just a little more."_


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Oh, wow, I haven't been in the Doris Day, Bobby Vee, Diana Dors, and other oldies mood in a while...I kinda phase in and out of it...but recently, I started back in on it, (and that means updates on this poor neglected fiction) I was able to compose a short little chapter. I hope you all enjoy...there will be more to come, but just not this week... though, like I said, I'm on an oldies kick again, so it'll likely be soon. I promised Shiz/Nat fluff last chapter and here it is...though, we're jumping a tiny bit into the future for this.

The segment that Natsuki's singing in the middle of this fiction is from Bobby Vee. The song is called Devil or Angle.

I do not own Mai HiME.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

_"This just doesn't do, thinking of her like this."_ Natsuki sighed as she turned off the typewriter she'd carried up to her room, for the occasion of working in the comfort of her own tiny abode. _"But, then when does it do, to be thinking of her at all, really?" _Natsuki knew the answer to that. "Never." She sighed aloud to herself. _"She's like a doorway to pure insanity, and yet..."_ Longing for the scent that she craved, she found one of the notes that had been slipped onto her desk slyly during the week, misted only with the smallest hint of perfume.

The paper was wearing out, purely because the small little note had been gazed upon over and over, during the forever lonely nights. The small radio played music, but that alone was not enough to warm the empty room. The light seemed to protest as a train sped down the tracks, and did the floor, and the entire room, when the train let loose it's whistle. It was something Natsuki always expected, and when she gazed out of the window, she took note off the passing supply cars in the distance. _"how often I wanted to Jump aboard and be carried away."_ Even now, the thought proved amusing.

She loosened the neck tie that was becoming bothersome, and turned the dial a little louder when a particular song came on. It was one she loved. "Devil, or angle, I can't make up my mind." She sang along softly, the words something, she felt were the epitome of Shizuru. "Which one you are." She did away with her shirt, tossing it haphazardly over the armchair. "I'd like to wake up and find." She did the same with her pants. "Devil or Angle, dear, whichever you are." Also her socks. "I miss you, I miss you, I mi-i-iss you." With a sigh, she shook her head, it was fruitless.

_"Lovers little tunes, they aren't meant for a person such as me." _She thought to herself, as she went about dressing in her nightly clothes..of which only covered her lower half. No one was there to pep, so it mattered not if her breasts were on display. "Devil or Angle, please say you'll be mine." It wasn't as if Shizuru, or anyone for that matter, could hear her. "Love me or leave me, I'll go out of my mind." Still, this song, one of her personal choices whenever sitting around, listening to the lovers lane stations, was something that made her wish Shizuru happened to be there. "Devil or angle, dear, whichever you are." She when over to the radio, slowly turning off the power, though the next line, came like a memory in her head anyway. "I need you, I need you, I need you."

_"Bidding the world a pleasant dream wouldn't work either, I doubt." _Natsuki mused, a bit bitterly. It had been weeks since they started dating.

It was a perfect lie, and they all played their roles well. Tea on some afternoons, dinners at least two evenings a week, and Reito played his role appropriately, charming Shizuru's family perfectly, as was expected. Still, it was a veil that was hard on all of them, in it's own small ways. Natsuki often wished she could be the one to walk Shizuru to her door...and even take it a step forward, kissing her goodnight passionately...something Reito didn't dare think to do...least he himself be personally disturbed by such a thing.

Natsuki had less of an image to keep up, thankfully, but even so, she played her part with Takeda even better, the two of them old hands at the skill of deception.

Things were getting deeper, the connection, it wasn't quite at the stage where they had to worry yet, but Natsuki could tell. It wasn't merely a fling. No, this was far deeper, and she couldn't count how many sleepless nights she'd endured recently. She couldn't wait to dive head first into her work during the day, if only to rush the day forward, so she could spend lunch at her leisure. _"It's the color of her eyes." _Natsuki sighed, looking at the single rose that sat atop her windowsill, in a clear crystal vase. _"Shizuru, will you be in my dreams tonight, too?"_ Emerald eyes fell to the ticking coo-coo clock, and she sighed. _"That is, if I can ever find slumber at this rate."_

She rolled over, but her wall gifted no solace, it was blank, apart from the photo frame of the greater downtown area. A photo she herself had taken with Chie and Nao back in the days of their youth. The broken, run down building they had been standing upon, had long since been torn down, but, she could say that this photo, black and white though it was, held all of her youthful dreams.

_"We weren't as well groomed as we thought ourselves to be, either." _Dressed as young men, though they were nothing of the sort, they waved at the camera. She knew well by memory, Haruka had taken the picture, but even if she had not recalled such a thing, the way the picture slanted screamed of it.

She hadn't even been as skilled as Chie, though, none of them were as good as their peppery haired comrade. _"Where have those days gone?"_ Natsuki hadn't an idea. _"I've become nearly tyrannical since then."_ As if the very flower above her head began crying for her, a single petal fell and landed atop her head. _"Though, I suppose that in the wake of adulthood, we'd had no other choice. That in and of itself fails to be of comfort."_ Natsuki cursed. _"Am I really so jaded?"_ She plucked the petal from her hair, and looked at it, before tossing it onto the floor, huffing a frustrated breath at the momentary distraction.

Annoyed, she looked at the clock again. _"If I can't sleep, what's the use in trying?"_ Not even a quarter of an hour had passed by.

Natsuki sighed as she tossed and turned in her bed, feeling the cold sheets as her body warmed them. _"Furthermore, why even bother to try in the first place, my dreams will only be plagued." _It was a delicious torture. She ached for the warmth she knew was merely a phone call away. Yet, with the moon high in the sky, she knew she couldn't possibly try. So, she found herself laying there, unable to find solace on this night, as a cigarette perched her lips, her body not nearly as covered as it should be. It wasn't as if it mattered, there wasn't anyone else to even gaze upon her, though she dearly wished that there would be. _"Face it, Chie's right. I have changed."_ She wondered if that was the case, or if she was just in the midst of something entirely different.

She wouldn't have put it beyond herself, but she found herself perplexed, when she heard a knock at the back door. _"What on this green earth?" _It echoed horridly, and with a scowl, she put out her cigarette and tossed on her robe, though she hadn't thought to tie it up, instead rushing down the back steps to crack the door to the cold outside. _"Where is she?"_ Praying that Nao hadn't gotten herself into trouble, she clutched the robe tightly around herself and opened the door all the way, finding a figure that much to her surprise, seemed lost within even herself, as she gazed down at the asphalt.

"Shizuru..." Natsuki didn't think to ask, didn't care to pry, she just stepped one foot outside, so that she could reach the woman, and guide her inside. _"This is harrowing, to speak the least..."_ With a breath to steady herself, she took one last glimpse outside, to make sure there wasn't any danger within the shadow. "What on earth are you doing here at this time of night?" She asked, only after she latched the door shut tightly. Leaning her back onto it, she cared not that the metal handles dug into her back. She needed something to grasp onto, least gravity lunge her into a downward spiral. _"She is more than just a little troubled."_

Shizuru wasn't offering a peep, as if she had nothing to really gift. Still, such eyes were a bother to Natsuki. So lost, searching perhaps, for any form of warmth. Shizuru was never the sort to seem so utterly hopeless. As if a person could give up everything, and yet, cling desperately onto that thing, and Natsuki's breath caught. _"Truly harrowing indeed..."_ Anything worth thinking, especially of this woman, was worth thinking of twice, if not thrice. "Do you realize how dangerous it is out there?" It was an exclamation etched in worry. Gifted with a long, agitated sigh. Crimson eyes however, wouldn't dare look up from the floor.

"Shizuru...hey." Natsuki said then, pulling the woman's focus away from the floor. "What's wrong?"

There were no words she could say, as she lunged into Natsuki's embrace, breathing deeply, as she was finally able to find calm. Her fingers clutched into the fabric of Natsuki's blue and green stripped flannel robe. She partook the welcome scents she had so longed to have. Natsuki's brand of cigarette, and the smell of male dominated fragrances, all the way down to the sweet, yet salty sweat that could only have come from a hard day of work, without a nighttime shower. It swirled, intoxicating her very being, and she couldn't help but cling onto Natsuki tightly. _"forgive me...Natsuki."_ She couldn't even think anything beyond that, though. Despairingly enough, her voice simply wouldn't follow her whims, and she could not speak the words.

"Shizuru, please?" Natsuki asked then, softly. "Talk to me." She ran her fingers through fawn tresses, trying to sooth the troubled breaths that didn't seem to be easily quelled. "Please..." Natsuki tried again, her voice careful not to dance upon clearly broken glass that shined so clearly in Shizuru's eyes.

"Hold me." It was all Shizuru truly wanted. She wanted warmth, and that was it. "I'm cold."

Natsuki shook her head, and pulled out of the hug, though it took great difficulty. Then she took hold of Shizuru's hand, and without a moment's hesitation, she pulled her up the long stairwell, and into the back hallway. There was one door, and that one led into her offices, but there was another long stairwell, and that was where her flat lay away, protected. Shizuru had not traveled up this path before, and with a breath, when Natsuki opened her door, ushering Shizuru inside, she licked her lips. "Pardon the mess." Natsuki said softly. _"She dares walk into a wolf's den, does she?"_ That was indeed what Natsuki desired. _"But now that she's here, what do I possibly do remedy this?"_

"Would you like something to drink?" Natsuki's asked in a confused rush...Shizuru only shook her head the negative. _Why on earth did she come here at this hour? _Natsuki pondered that over and over, as she showed Shizuru to her small love seat, pushing off the large stack of papers, sending them flying into the other clutter of her home. She didn't care at that moment. She sat down next to Shizuru, grasping onto her hands. _Why is she shaking? _"What happened?" Natsuki breathed.

"Nothing." It was the truth...nothing had happened at all. "I was just in the area and-" She swallowed back some her more confining reservations. "I thought I might drop by." She kept her fits in her lap, worrying her handkerchief between them in angry spirals. "_I wanted to see you...that's all."_

"It's well past midnight." Natsuki said then. "Why would you be in the area at this hour?" Emerald eyes glistened, and she found herself unable to find comfort in the fact that the one woman she longed for, was now sitting before her. _"I prayed for you, but, not like this..."_ Her thumbs brushed over those soft hands, ones that were never as stained as her own. _"The gods are indeed twisted, to gift me such a sight."_ She wanted to keep Shizuru from shaking, least the woman fracture to bits, merely by her tremble.

"I never went home." Shizuru said then. "I phoned home, saying I would be out with a few friends." She sighed and shook her head. "In truth, I went to the piano bar a few blocks down the street." Her fingers perched upon her forehead, and with a deject frown, she wondered why she felt so compelled. "Three beverages later, and countless songs, I felt empty, and alone." It was beginning to upset her. _"__Last night, my bed was cold...I refuse to be so lonely_ again._" _Yet, still, she wondered just what she could truly do. "This...it really does scare me." She closed her eyes, and she tried to steady herself. "I don't like living in fear, and my parents, when they ask me about my gentleman friend, I've nothing to say to them." Her heart clenched tightly. "It causes so much hurt, when I think of the way I deceive them."

"Does it feel so painful now?" Natsuki asked, as she cupped Shizuru's cheek, brushing away a stray tear that had slipped out from behind closed eyes.

"Not in the slightest." Shizuru admitted freely as she opened her eyes, and found herself lost within emerald orbs. Natsuki was slowly leaning in, no doubt to kiss her, and the request was granted. Shizuru wrapped her arms around Natsuki's neck as all of her fear completed melted away. She was acutely aware of her state of dress, and Natsuki's lack of it, as she caught a glimpse of soft womanly breasts, hidden just under her robes, and immediately, she pulled away, breathing heavily, when she felt those soft breasts press into her. "Natsuki, I've never..." Her eyes trailed away in shame, when she took notice of the gifts just beneath the robe. "I don't know if I'm even..."

"Ready." Natsuki finished the thought knowingly. "I don't mind." Natsuki said softly, as she looked deeply into Shizuru's crimson robs. "We can just stay together." Natsuki murmured. "If you want."

"I think, I'd like that." Shizuru nodded, melting into Natsuki, as the woman of midnight tresses embraced her again. "I don't like that we have to be untrue to ourselves." That very pang threatened to tear her apart. "I understand that this just isn't accepted, but even so." She never wanted to leave this embrace, never wished to let go of this woman. "Will this ever get any easier?"

"We have all the time in the world, Shizuru." Natsuki said then. "I imagine, there will be times that are quite unbearable." If she looked up and over her sofa, she could see her rumpled bed that had been cold before. _"It would be warm, if Shizuru were to be there."_ Natsuki thought then. "However, I also know there will be days that will discount all of that...they will be so overflowing with joy, you'll see." That was simply the way life worked, Natsuki knew. "Shizuru, I know that you are unable to join me for the night as a lover would, but I am also not a drone." Though, she wished she was, the truth made her accept that she was not. "Within that, I would very much like if you warmed by bed tonight...even if we did little more than held each other close."

…

Shizuru phoned home as soon as the crack of dawn began to greet the sky, if only so her parents would not worry.

Her father, being the nosy man that he was, tended to get lost in his rather odd fantasies whenever he might get the chance, and upon that, he had but one great wish. That was seeing Shizuru, his darling daughter, learn the simplistic joys of a woman. One who hadn't the need to worry about what life might throw at her. He was amused by the fact she could hold her own in any place of employment, though he was also proud of such a thing as well. Still, he was a gentleman of an era when a woman simply enjoyed being around the house, and never question the man to do as he should...as such a man, it came as no surprise that he wished the same happiness for his daughter.

It was when she quietly sighed, her hand gently placing down the receiver, that she found herself at a loss. "That man will never rest, until I've been married off." Such a statement was said in good humor, but it still gave little to the imagination. "He's quite fond of Reito, and he's playing with rather uncouth jokes...I however, doubt they're truly as funny as his prattling lets on."

"That really shouldn't surprise you." Natsuki said, offering Shizuru a cup of tea that wasn't at all what she would normally expect. It was after all from a teabag, one that had been questionable, as it had come from the supply room down in the offices. "My father wants the same thing."

"Well, that's just dandy, but it does me little good." Finally more at ease with herself, Shizuru had once again become the social butterfly, even on such an early morning.

"If it did any of us any good, we wouldn't be in such a mess." Natsuki couldn't imagine life being any other way, forever, it was a difficulty. She'd rather not think about it, as the cigarette that perched her lips quickly met the ashtray. "The truth is, Shizuru, that this world is filled with such an ideal. The very land upon which we live, presumes that such a life, is the only way of life." Natsuki shook her head with a smirk as she drew open the torn bedsheets she used to cover the windows, letting the sunlight in. "Granted, for most, it's all that's desired, so that's all that's needed...and far be it from me, to judge a life in which I do not live."

"You are a very interesting person, Natsuki." Shizuru said then. "Sometimes, I wonder just what type of life you've lived, to make you think in such a way." She'd always thought so, but there were times such eccentric ways of thinking came forth unabashed. "You do tend to have quite the sharp whit, and yet, I find that your tongue is blunted, and I've no idea why...not when it's clear through the tribune, that you demand a sort of solace."

"You are Japanese, yet you are American, are you not?" Natsuki asked then, to which Shizuru nodded in reply. "I take it, you've been schooled in proper history...you know of what happened to our people, during the war...how rights and privileges were taken away during the war. furthermore, that it was taken away from those who needed their rights the most." When Shizuru nodded again, Natsuki let loose a small smirk. "That is just anther example I can give, as to why a person must question everything, even in a place where they say freedoms are given freely." At that, Natsuki licked her lips. "Think on it, do we have rights, or do we have privilege?"

"I suspect that is truly something subject to interpretation." Shizuru agreed. "Something as ironclad as that...it seemed to melt under the pressure...it wasn't exactly protection back then, was it?" Upon further thought of the matter, Shizuru came to a very simplistic conclusion. "You are, as my father says, one very odd duck...interesting, but indeed very odd."

"There is very little wrong with that." Natsuki said as she nodded. "Oddities are what give rise to new freedoms, and it's what gives passive voices some of the most frightening shouts...our dreams be damned, if they don't fit the mold." Still, even if that came to mind as something less than pleasant to think about, she didn't dare dive to such a depth. "I think you'll come to find, compliance...even as a lie...is still better than causing undue distress." Natsuki sat down on the sofa as well, taking a sip of her morning coffee, of which, was quite stale and dull. "Further more, I believe deeply, that when voices are heard by enough ears, that mold will slowly start to change."

"That will be a good thing." Shizuru said then with a smile of her own.

"Change is simply change." Natsuki reminded her softly. "It isn't inherently good, nor is it bad."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Keep in mind, this chapter does not at all, remotely reflect my views on the GLBTQ lifestyle...

However, it does reflect the mindset the people had of it, back in the early days...we have it really good now, compared to what it was back then. There were times when being gay openly was gravely dangerous. The people were judgmental, slanted, rude, crude, and everything in between. Being bigoted was considered normal, and even being a different race was something people would be completely unethical about...in America, those days were, for many utter hell, and the GLBTQ communities weren't spared for the slander they received...especially prior to the seventies when things slowly (very, very slowly, began to get better for the GLBTQ communities)

Nowadays, though we've got a long way to go before we can say we're fully accepted, we can at least think to ourselves that we're a lot better off now, than we were before...in any case, this chapter does reflect a bigoted era, but I attempted to do it as modestly as humanly possible...

I do not own Mai HiME.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"But of course James." Tadao nodded as he sat with some brandy in hand, considering his broker's words. "Do whatever you can think of to do, I'm not bothered by it. Your choices have always been spot on." He always took his meetings in the morning, right after breakfast, and this meeting was much the same, as he sat in a corner office of a personal friend of his.

"What of Shizuru?" James asked as he gathered his papers up. "Would you like anything invested for her, before I start doling out shares?" He was an Englishman, his voice so unlike his daughter's.

"No need." Tadao said after a moment. "I believe I've squandered enough money away to keep her comfortable for a few years." He partook a sip of his brandy as he considered that. "She has a job now, you know. The pay seems well enough for her, but you'd know all about that, I'm sure."

"I don't believe I follow." Though, he scowled only slightly, biting his tongue. "You'll have to pardon my ignorance." It was clear Tadao knew something that might not have been the best of information for him to have gathered.

"Oh, Natsuki mustn't have informed you." Tadao laughed then, nearly feeling foolish. "I forget, she isn't very interested in gossip." At that, he merely smiled. "I knew that Natsuki worked for the press, but it seems as if she's gone up in the world. She's of the position to hire on new employees, and even requires a secretary. Odd, but, also quite interesting."

"My daughter hired Shizuru, I take it." James played along, not quite sure of just how much this man knew. "Quite a curious combination, those two."

"I'll admit, I often wondered if you were a good father to the girl, she so emulated you, after all." Tadao continued, elated with the facts of his news. "I was pleasantly surprised, that she could actually be a proper lady, she's grown so well, James...and with a man such as Takeda, you've nothing to worry about, he'll see to her future indeed."

"I do hope so." James nodded, though he was quite a bit confused. "You see a lot of Natsuki, I presume."

"Nearly every weekend, my good man." Tadao laughed as he finished his brandy. "She's introduced Shizuru to a strapping, and eligible lad named Reito. They come over for tea, and the boys often join me for gulf, wonderful, both of them. Our girls are well taken care of, I assure you. the boys are nearly brotherly, they're very good friends...so, it only makes due to assume our girls have also become quite the smitten little women"

"Brotherly..." James tasted the word slowly. It was not how he would describe matters, but then again, he dared not to speak of it at length at all. "This is the first I've heard of any of it, I must admit." He poured himself, and his good friend another drink anyway. " Regretful, honestly...but, Natsuki isn't the type to gab. I'll take your word for it..another drink, perhaps?" He believed not a word, knowing well his child was up to no good.

"Indeed." Tadao nodded, seemingly none the wiser.

…

"Natsuki, a Mr. Nash, is on the phone for you." Shizuru said, peaking her head into Natsuki's office. "Is something wrong?"

"My father." Natsuki said in the way of a simple explanation. _"What does the dunderhead want now?" _She thought to herself with a sigh, turning off her typewriter. "He normally doesn't bother me during working hours, whatever this is, he finds it to be important." Natsuki sighed, knowing what that really meant, as she picked up the phone, albeit with a smidgen of hesitation. "Kuga here, may I help you?"

"You could enlighten me." Her father grumbled at her. "Really Natsuki, of all the things to do."

"What did I do this time?" She asked him, leaning back in her chair, closing her eyes. _"Oh, he is furious."_

"You know perfectly well what you've done!" He bellowed into the phone.

"Stop giving me far more credit then I deserve." It was a dry retort. _"What I've done indeed...what does he know?" _Her words would have to be played carefully, and she knew it, but she was unsure of what to say next, not wanting to stumble into his traps. "What did I do?"

"Tadao Fujino is a very important client!" He told her, as if she'd lost her mind. "His daughter isn't a person with whom you should become personally friendly with, Natsuki. I've already warned you of that much before." He was exasperated that his daughter would even think to do such a thing. "You spin a fine little web, but think about what might happen when he bursts your bubble?"

"Get into a fine mess of trouble, I suppose." Natsuki admitted. "It really isn't something I want to worry about, at least not right now."

"Of all the women to make gay." Her father sighed. "I told you not to go corrupting any more girls, and just look at what you've done this time. If I were you, I'd be more than just a little worried."

"Dad!" Natsuki barked. "How many times do I have to tell you, being gay doesn't work that way." She muttered deeply. "It isn't like I can just brainwash them." She said opening her metal case with smokes waiting for her.

"Explain Nao." He grumbled. "While you're at it, explain Chie, and Haruka...and all of your other little friends."

"Birds of a feather." Natsuki sighed, knowing this was something she would never beat into his head. "They're like minded people, as you know." She lit a cigarette and took a low draw from it. "People who think alike simply become friendly with each other, that's all." She watched as the smoke twirled from the tip of the lit end, something to amuse her while he ranted. "It isn't as if I thought this would be amusing." Still, she tried to appease him, at least a little. "Trust me, my friends are my friends due to common bonds, not because we've started some zany cult...we are all very right in the head, thank you very much."

"I'd be willing to doubt that." Her father told her. "You aren't...not if you want to try to befriend a person such as Shizuru, in such a way...you'll be hurt terribly, child. Shizuru is not such a person to fall for your foolish antics, even if she would find them mildly amusing for a short time." Her father proclaimed yet again. "I assure you, she's the furthest from the sort of person that you are."

"Her actions say otherwise...in fact, sometimes they scream of it. Occasionally, she loses subtly." Natsuki smirked at the gasp her words gifted her. "I've personally experienced the type of person she is." She said to her father, to drive her point home. "I'm sure I can make my own well educated conclusions because of them."

"Natsuki... you haven't?" Her father asked in shock. "You wouldn't dare..."

"Oh yes, I have." Natsuki licked her lips and put the cigarette down in the tray, forgotten for the moment. "I would dare again too...all I would have to do is step right out of my office, and I could dare to do all that I please."

"If you were just a few years younger..." James warned her in a low, gruff voice. "Natsuki, you'd better end this quickly. I won't stand for losing a good friend simply because you're too stubborn to listen to reason. You can't keep brushing off anyone, who might actually tell you that something is wrong. Which might I remind you, this most certainly is."

"Considering that you can't put me over your knee, like you would have if I were younger, what now?" Natsuki asked then, knowing she was getting in just a little over her head. "Are you going to go tattle on me like some upset little boy...I thought you were above that."

"I am, thankfully for your little hide." He told her with a sigh. "Natsuki, please, stop doing these completely idiotic things, before you well and truly get hurt. I'm warning you well and good, that you had better do as your told this time."

"We'll see." It was all she could say to him, and it didn't appease him in the slightest. He was looking out for her best interest, and she knew that, as bothersome as that was. Still, when she hung up the phone, an action made difficult because the man she was fighting with, had just as much gusto as her, if not more. She had to agree with him about one thing, she was toying with fire...a very, very dangerous fire indeed. Shizuru was not a shy, meek little woman by any means, even if that was the way she came off, if only to appease the men around her.

Natsuki knew better, had seen proof...tasted the facts for herself, those kisses something that gave Natsuki a breath of life in and of itself. _"No..."_ She thought to herself. _"He does not understand, and likely, he never will."_ She nibbled the tip of her thumbnail before shrugging it off and returning to her work. _"Worrying about it will benefit me very little, he doesn't comprehend that."_

…

The ruckus wasn't something that ended with her father. Trouble always came in three's, the adage something that spilled over into her office on any given day. Be it Haruka's bluster, or Nao's continual need to harass picketers outside, there always seemed to be some sot of mud slinging, to which, Natsuki was normally the one to clean up. It came as no surprise that Nao was currently public enemy number one, when it came to her rather uncouth response to the protests in the streets. Many of the people holding slander that would be better left unsaid...however, due to the fact it existed at all, meant of course, that any sort of attention, was still quite the negative.

It also didn't help that Nao was the sort of person who had very little tact, unless it was to invite any and all manners of havoc possible.

All things considered, Natsuki couldn't say she was all together shocked when her offer door was unceremoniously flung open later that afternoon. "What in the blue blazes happened to her?" Natsuki questioned as Chie all but dragged a badly beaten Nao through the office doors. Shizuru was quickly trailing behind, unsure of just why the two of them looked so unclean. Pelted with what looked, and reeked of trash from the city dump. "Nao..." Natsuki said as she crouched down in front of her, waving her head, trying to get lime green eyes to focus. "Nao, say something?" Natsuki ordered, snapping her fingers.

"Bunch of bigots..." Nao slurred dizzily. "I'll get em' next time."

"Your head...it's bleeding..so is your mouth, open up." Natsuki said, seeing the red trickle down from Nao's hairline, a broken beer bottle the cause, if the tiny glimmers of glass were any indication. "Shizuru." Natsuki said then, looking to her with a meaningful gaze. "In my bathroom there's a first aid kit, and a bottle of rum, gather both, if you would."

"Yes...right away." On the job, they always remained as professional as could be, but even more than that, the urgency of the situation made both of their minds run on pure instinct, and formality became apart of that.

"How did the two of you manage this?" Natsuki leveled her eyes at Chie, who was also pretty worse for wear, though unharmed, unlike their brash friend.

"How do you think?" Chie asked as she rid her hair of dirt, coffee grounds, and whatever else stuck to her normally peppery hair, that was all sorts of sordid colors, the scents unmentionable at best. "The picketers were out in the streets again, and Nao got cornered without her knives. The back door was locked too, for whatever reason."

"That fault, is my own." Natsuki remembered clearly. "Nao, I'm sorry." Natsuki murmured...she's forgotten to unlock the metal bolt that kept it firmly locked away at night. She examined Nao's eyes with a bit of confusion, but finally sighed when Shizuru brought the kit into the room. The rum intended for drinking, Natsuki poured over a large wad of gauze. "Bite down on that." Natsuki ordered, peering again at Nao's already swollen jaw. It was after she'd given Nao something tangible to chew on, that she took a closer look at her head. "What do you mean, she didn't have her knives? That's what I would like to know."

"Mom took em' a few days ago." The redhead was beginning to sober up from the smack to the head. "She hates that I carry them in the first place." Nao said with great difficulty with her mouth full of the gauze. "Doesn't like violence."

"What the bloody hell would she call this then?" Natsuki ranted onward. "Really, she took away a few measly little switchblades?" She couldn't believe it, but then she wondered why Chie wasn't carrying her own protection. "And you, where's your gun?"

"I wasn't going to shoot anyone." Chie shook her head. "Besides, I forgot it at home...I was running late, you see."

"It's a child's plaything, Chie! It shoots little peas this big!" She made a tiny space with her fingers. Of all the times to be caught unarmed and absentminded, it had to be today, the release of their newest issue. "A little intimidation never hurt anyone, nor has a few tiny frozen peas in the rear, ever killed a man! It's merely a pop gun!" Natsuki told her pointedly, raging loud enough to even give Haruka a run for her money. "Having your thumb up your own sphincter is a different story entirely."

"It seems as if you should start being more careful." Shizuru agreed softly with Natsuki, inwardly sickened from the sight. "Who would do something like this?" She couldn't fathom it.

"You know exactly who." Natsuki said then, all too bitterly as her eyes cut to the window. "Simply look outside, they're still there."

"I'd rather not." Shizuru replied, watching as Natsuki finished cleaning and dressing Nao's wound. "It would only depress me all the more."

"It's to be expected." Chie shrugged, though she was just as outraged, she knew half of it was brought on by Nao's own actions, as well as her own. "Shizuru, we know what we're doing is dangerous, and not only a bit pretentious, but we do it because we feel the need to do it." If she only remained quiet, and obedient...if only she was a person able to stay low key, she could live a happy little life...Chie just wasn't such a person. "It doesn't mean people like it though, and hazing is something we kind of provoke."

"The trash barrels Nao tosses from the third story window on any given day, not withstanding." Natsuki muttered. "Nor our newest issue." In fact, if Natsuki were honest, she was surprised something like this hadn't happened sooner.

"Oh, just wait until they read it." Chie hooted with more enthusiasm than what was likely considered appropriate. "I'll bet they'll try to burn the place down."

"I wouldn't put it beyond them." Natsuki said as she partook a cigarette from her metal case, and then thinking about what to do next. She dialed a number that she knew by heart, listening to the ringing as she little the little stick perched in her mouth. "I'll tell you one thing, Nao can't go home looking like she does." Then, finally the ringing stopped, and Natsuki was met with a woman's voice, who she knew to be Nao's mother. "It's Natsuki, I thought I'd call to check in." She said jovially, her voice not giving a hint at all, that Nao had been hurt. "Hmm?" Natsuki's question attracted the eyes of all in the room, who watched on in awe.

"Oh, no, not at all." Natsuki said then with a small laugh. "She's been the picture of upstanding employment." That cause a few in the room to roll their eyes, Natsuki was lying through her teeth. "Ah, yes, you see that's why I called." Natsuki was playing along to a fine tune, but Chie was the first to sniff out Natsuki's half baked, but working plan. "You wouldn't happen to be having troubles with the medical bills, are you?"

"It's a good thing, that your mom thinks the world of her." Chie muttered quietly to the redhead.

"Yeah." Nao knew that well. "I'm grateful for that."

"What type of person is your mother?" Shizuru asked, keeping half an eye on Natsuki's little ruse, to which she'd begun to observe, was turning into a gabbing session more and more by the second. "Natsuki seems to like her."

"Mom babies her. She treats Natsuki as if she were like a sister to me or something...she says Natsuki's a good influence." Nao answered as she pulled the gauze out of her mouth, before taking the bottle and drinking from it, that was, before Chie took it away.

"If only she knew." Chie smirked. "Natsuki's fully to blame, teaching this one bad habits."

"Hey!" Nao whispered heatedly. "Why's you'd go and do that for?!"

"If you have a concussion, you shouldn't try to get yourself drunk." Chie explained, tapping the gauze covered spot hard enough to get her point across. "If you want, I'll go down and buy you some soda from the vender, but no more rum."

"Ah, yes...I see." Natsuki's voice pulled their attention back to her. "Yes, that would be quite the predicament...what with the way the markets are and all." It was still a frivolous conversation, but they listened to Natsuki's one sided replies none the less. "Ah, yes...I'm well aware of that...but, Nao's a good kid. A little rough around the edges, but so am I." It was only a moment later when Natsuki blushed a little then, before stammering. "W-well, yeah...I try my best and all." She coughed a bit to clear her throat. "She does too, in her own ways." Natsuki said then, softly, finally reaching the point of her conversation. She looked over at Nao's tired lime green eyes, before continuing. "I think Nao should stay with me for a little while."

Natsuki was nodded quietly, not saying a word as she listened intently, before forming her reply, and the entire time, worried lime green eyes, begged Natsuki not to say anything too damning. "I know she's been having problems at home." Natsuki nodded to Nao reassuringly, and the red head breathed a sigh of relief. "They've already reflected in her grades, and in her sour attitude." Natsuki offered before she sighed, flicking her cigarette in the ashtray nearby, before tossing Nao the metal case. "She's a hard worker, and I think we have to give that credit, when it's due...It would be better, I think, if she blew off a little steam." Again, Natsuki paused to listen. "Yes, I agree...but I wouldn't force her...you know that ends badly."

With a few moments to say goodbye, Natsuki hung up the phone. "So, what's the verdict?" Chie asked, offering Nao a lighter, the girl could use some nicotine to calm her addled nerves.

"Nao's mother is worried about her, as to be expected, but, as I also assumed, she trusts me with keeping an eye on her." Natsuki said, taking one last hit of her own cigarette, putting it out. "She'll be staying here...at least until I can send her home without her looking quite so beat up."

"We should phone the authorities." Shizuru said then, chewing on her lower lip. "They would handle this better, wouldn't they?"

"I'm afraid not." Natsuki said slowly after thinking about it. "People aren't so forgiving to the minorities, Shizuru. People have places they belong, and sadly, that doesn't just apply to people like ourselves. There's any number of reasons why they wouldn't help us, our personal preferences higher on that list than I care to think about."

"She doesn't know, does she?" Shizuru asked Nao, who just shook her head in reply, too ashamed to say anything as she curled herself into a ball.

"Her mother knows about me." Natsuki said then, as she came around her desk to kneel by Nao's side again. "She doesn't know about Nao...she doesn't think Nao could ever be gay like we are. It hasn't even occurred to her to think that way...but, she is a feminist, and the damnedest one I know at that...that's why, even if she doesn't like it..." Natsuki sighed, and shook her head. "She is more interested in my accomplishments, than my obscure lifestyle." Natsuki murmured as she stroked Nao's hair, being mindful of the shallow cut that was bandaged shut. "But, I know for a fact...she would think differently of the lifestyle, if she knew about Nao...her mom is very frail, and one of the reasons she thinks I'm...well...the way I am, is because I never had a mother, and that my father warped me, or something."

"How farfetched." Shizuru shook her head. "The things people believe, it's astonishing that they even have the capacity to think at all." She couldn't believe that this could happen, it surely never occurred up town, at least, not in the light of day, never in front of her very eyes...then again, she assumed her perception was easily naive, she tended to avoid those of more limited mindsets, finding it utterly ridiculous at best. "With as good as our education is, you'd think..." Shizuru sighed. "Well, I don't know what exactly one would think of this, but those assumptions are absolutely asinine, no matter how one might attempt to look at it."

"You know that, and I know that." Natsuki nodded then. "Even my father grasps at least some of it...but most people Shizuru..." Natsuki was at a loss. "Most people don't even try to understand." Natsuki said then, dejectedly. "Anyway, Chie, go on up and use the shower...I know it's piss poor, and small compared to the one you have at your own home, but at this rate, it's better than nothing...after that, go ahead and sneak out the back...go home for the day, and take Aoi with you."

Chie nodded. "Well then, if you'll excuse me."

"Yeah, sure." Natsuki said then, before turning back to Nao. "Hey kiddo, it'll be alright."

"I'm not a kid." Nao murmured back in a shaky, broken down voice.

"You're crying like one." Natsuki told her softly, pulling the younger girl in her arms.

"I'm not crying." Nao growled, lifting her face from her hands. "See, no tears."

"Shut up..." Resting her chin atop Nao's head, Natsuki looked at Shizuru while rolling her eyes meaningfully. "Little idiot."

"Moron." Nao grumbled back, and yet she made no move to leave Natsuki's hold.

…

It was later in the evening, while they awaited Reito to pick Shizuru up, that the two of them sat in Natsuki's office, while Nao made herself scarce up in Natsuki's flat. Leaving briefly, only for a few mugs of tea, and to check on her young friend, Natsuki returned to Shizuru's side quickly, and settled herself at her desk, frowning at her unfinished work for the day. She was in no mood to do it now, and began to clean up, all the while, taking notice of Shizuru's perplexed features. _"She needs to stop doing that, before she get's lost in that mug..."_ That thought brought about mild amusement, and yet, even more wandering fears.

"How is she?" The question was quiet, and filled with uncertainty.

"The same as before." Natsuki shrugged. "Smoking me out of house and home. Looking up at my ceiling, cursing everything she can think of." It was all to be expected, if the truth were to be told. "She's afraid, and I think a little upset at herself. She doesn't like to show weakness, but, she's still a child, so it is to be expected."

"She's only one year my junior." Shizuru couldn't fathom seeing Nao as such a thing as child, not when she was brash, yet capable of so much. "I don't find that to be quite so young."

The papers Natsuki closed in her desk was like that of a finality, and she peered up at Shizuru then. "Don't let her fool you." It was a soft laugh, but, an honest one, that she let slip from her lips. "Nao never went to high school, she dropped out, and began working in minor laboring jobs ever since. Like me, she started as a mere paper girl, and the only reason she had been hired back then, was because of the fact that I vouched for her." Though, in truth, that was only one reason of many. "I do see her as a child. I think she has a lot to learn, and, I also feel as if I'm going to be the one to teach her...to protect her."

"You're both so full of secrets, apparently." It was meant in jest. The truth was just that it also bothered her. "You're still a quandary, even if you are willingly an open book. Nash...and yet, your name is Kuga." Shizuru said, as she swirled her mug in her hands, watching the tea twirl. "Yet, Nash is your father." So many things, she'd yet to know.

"I was born out of wedlock." Natsuki said slowly. "My father was in Japan for quite some time, though, he doesn't talk about why he was there, or what exactly he did...I only know he was there quite against his will...that, and it's a given that he slept with my mother...though, from what I understand, the relationship was a short one." She took the time to close her eyes, a quiet respect for her mother, wondering if she should say the next part at all, finally deciding that if it was Shizuru, it was okay to speak of it. "My mother told him of me in letters, but, I hadn't actually spent any real measure of time with him until after she died...I mean, I saw pictures of him, and met him a few times, when I was quite small, but, her death is why I came here."

"Do you miss it?" Shizuru asked. "Japan I mean."

"I wouldn't say I miss it." Natsuki was unsure just what she might say about it, now, while the red gaze was upon her. "Your eyes, they are not unlike the unity and symbols of our people." Natsuki said softly, taking a small breath at that. "Japan is prideful, and yet, very stern...I like that. My mother, she was also a very stern woman, but also, very kind. Your eyes, they remind me of that."

"I wouldn't know." At that, she took a sip of tea, and closed her eyes, hiding them, and taking in those words. "I have never been there. I am American born and raised...only my blood hails from there...furthermore, oddly enough, I never really took the time to learn much about the place." With that, she opened her eyes, and that glimmering stare, she often found directed at her, once again made her breath catch. "What is it, Natsuki?"

A small, little smile, graced Natsuki's lips. "It's nothing." She replied as she finished cleaning off her desk. "I was just thinking about how I might be able to keep you here with me tonight...but I also know that's futile...at least, for now. I wouldn't want your father to be suspicious."

"No, I suppose not." Shizuru agreed. "But, I'll be able to see you tomorrow...surely we can manage a few hours."

"Oh, I can manage it." Natsuki agreed then with a quick scoff. "I just don't want to...I hate waiting."


End file.
